It could have spread to neighbouring homes.

Firefighters, called to St Andrew’s Road, Exmouth, on New Year’s Day when a shed caught fire, said they were concerned the blaze would spread to nearby homes.

The fire crews were called to the property shortly before 2pm, and called for police back up to control passing traffic after fears were raised the fire could spread to neighbouring properties.

A spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire was accidental.

The spokesperson said: “This was a fire involving three outbuildings measuring three metres by four metres in size. “One garden shed was severely damaged by fire, one adjacent vehicle was slightly damaged by heat and three adjacent domestic properties were also slightly damaged by heat.”

Fire crews wore breathing apparatus and used one hose reel jet run from a street hydrant to tackle the blaze.

A thermal imaging camera was used to check for hot spots and fire crews also spent time turning over and damping down the area once the fire was out.

Several members of the public reported the blaze to the fire service.