999 crew waits to assess cottage

Search and rescue teams were today still waiting to get into a remote cottage in Mid Wales destroyed by fire to discover if there was anyone inside.

Teams worked at the scene of the fire at Ysgubor Goch cottage in Welshpool all day yesterday to shore up the damaged building to allow a full inspection to be carried out.

There are fears that someone may have been inside when the fire swept through the cottage on Thursday.

Firefighters throughout the region attended the blaze but have so far been unable to enter the premises.

Progress was also halted because of hot spots around the building which caused small fires to reignite.

Firefighters worked throughout the night on Thursday to damp down the fire and make it safe for an inspection to be carried out.

A police cordon was set up and a team of firefighters worked all day yesterday to sift through the damage.

Jon Evans, from Mid and West Wales Fire Service's Powys command, said the fire teams had gained access to most of the building but it remained in a dangerous condition.

He said: "This was a severe fire and involved a wide response from firefighters in Welshpool, Llanfyllin and Newtown.

"Our search and rescue team has been shoring up the building to allow us to carry out an investigation in full which we hope to complete soon."