Watch: Free ice creams given to firefighters after eight hours tackling blaze

Crews from Ludlow, Craven Arms and Shrewsbury, with an aerial ladder platform, attended a serious house fire in Ludlow on Thursday.

It quickly became clear the fire involved the chimney.

Firefighters were on the scene in Sandpits Road from about 4.13pm on Thursday to just after midnight.

Also in the area was Tee Smith, who describes himself as "most probably the BEST ice cream man in Great Britain".

"We drove past these firemen about 10 times over in Ludlow tonight," said Tee Smith, the "main poppa general" at Mr Tee King Of Desserts, on his Facebook page.

"They were busy tending to a fire that had broke out… I said to Mrs Tee these guys deserve a treat… when we went past the eleventh time and they were finishing up, we stopped the van."

A video showed fire crews lapping up cookie dough and waffles.

Mr Tee said: "This is a little thank you to the fire service for being absolute legends in the town of Ludlow.

"They have sorted a fire out and we are sorting them out."

He then offered to do the same for other emergency crews.

"If we see any fire brigade, ambulance or police, anywhere in any situation and we see they've got a minute to spare we will always stop and we will always give you a treat."

During the course of the incident, which was described as a chimney fire above a wood-burning stove, crews used a ladder, chimney rods, a hose reel jet, a roof ladder and a thermal imaging camera to tackle the flames.

Oliver Powis, a crew manager with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said they appreciated the kind gesture.

"Although we have provisions on the appliances for firefighters to have when attending an incident for a significant time, the kind gesture of the ice cream van owner was really appreciated by everyone," he said.

"The crews are committed to serving their community and we are always touched when the public want to do something special for us.

“The incident lasted for a considerable amount of time and was a difficult one to tackle. It serves as a stark reminder to always get your chimney swept regularly, keep it well maintained, use the correct fuel and keep a fire guard in place. Most importantly always ensure you have working smoke alarms and test them weekly.”