Eyewitnesses to a huge blaze at Highbridge Caravans early on Saturday morning have spoken of their “shock” at the scale of the fire which destroyed 160 caravans worth over £1m and caused huge flames and loud explosions.
As first reported here, fire crews were called from across Somerset to battle the blaze in the town at around 1.30am.
One eyewitness, Sally-Ann Jones, said: “It looked like a warzone – it was very frightening, especially for our children and pets, with loud explosions and huge flames towering over the site for several hours. We were very relieved that the fire crews stopped it spreading further but are shocked that it caused so much damage.” 160 caravans were destroyed.
Eyewitness Jason White, who shot the video above, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “It was an incredible scene with huge flames and loud pops and bangs as the gas cylinders exploded. The fire came very close to taking several buildings – I saw the fire crews dowsing them down with water to save them.”
He added: “The fire spread so quickly – the speed at which the caravans went up was amazing.”
Nearby resident Amanda Ham, who was woken by the explosions, added: “It was just awful. I watched in horror from my bedroom window. My thoughts are with the Davies family.”
And resident David Whatley spoke of his shock at the scenes as he saw huge billowing flames over the site.
Philip Davies, Director at Highbridge Caravans, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are devastated that this has happened – more than 100 caravans have been destroyed and, as each has a value of around £10-£15,000, the overall figure will be around £1million.”
The fire service received over 60 calls from concerned members of the public as the fire spread quickly through the site, exploding gas cylinders and burning 160 caravans.
Highbridge Caravans fire: How the overnight blaze unfolded
