Village hall destroyed in blaze

The Memorial Hall is beyond salvage following the fire

A village hall in Surrey has been left a "blackened and charred wreck" by a fire which tore through it during the early hours.

More than 20 firefighters were called out to tackle the blaze at the Memorial Hall in Nutfield.

Alan Streeter, chair of the hall's trustees, said: "It's just a shell really and everything inside has gone."

The cause of the blaze remains unclear but fire investigation officers have been at the scene examining the debris.

Several 999 calls were received just before 0350 BST on Tuesday.

'Up in smoke'

A spokesman for Surrey and Fire Rescue Service said the hall, in Nutfield High Street, was "100% alight" when crews arrived.

It took nearly two hours for the fire to be put out, but the single-storey building was almost completely destroyed.

This fire is disastrous for the people that have used the hall Alan Streeter

"Some walls are standing but they've got to be pulled down because they're not very safe," Mr Streeter said.

Donations from local people saw the hall built as a war memorial in 1959.

It housed a main room, a kitchen and two smaller rooms, as well as adjoining football changing areas and showers used by Nutfield FC.

Sheila Coombs, chairwoman of Nutfield Parish Council, said the hall was well used by village groups, the Women's Institute and bridge clubs.

And Mr Streeter added: "This fire is disastrous for the people that have used the hall.

"It's been good over the years, there's been a lot of voluntary improvement work, but now it's all gone up in smoke."