FIFTY tonnes of timber went up in flames at a wood yard in Harrowbarrow in the early hours of Tuesday morning but firefighters managed to save another 50 tonnes of wood and several buildings and sheds.

Two fire appliances from Callington spent more than four hours tackling the blaze and were joined by another two crews from Saltash and a water carrier from Plympton.

At the height of the blaze 20 firefighters were dealing with the incident, using three jets, two hose reels and a fire hydrant.

Station officer at Callington Kevin Rookley said a neighbour alerted the brigade just after 4am. The fire was well alight on arrival, he said.

'A lot of the wood, which was all stockpiled outside, was saved, probably about half of it, and we stopped the fire spreading to any of the buildings,' he said. The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.

Two crews from Callington remained at the scene, damping down hot spots, until 8.30am.

The owner of the wood yard did not wish to comment on the incident.