A TRAGEDY-hit family has suffered another devastating blow after their new home was ravaged by fire - while local firefighters were stuck on Exmoor tackling a heath blaze which is believed to have been started deliberately.

Fiona Baker and her four children escaped unharmed when their three-storey rented property in Battleton went up in smoke just before midday on Saturday.

And although the house is less than a mile from Dulverton fire station, firefighters from Bampton and Wiveliscombe had to be called in to tackle the blaze as the local crews were out on the moor.

Mrs Baker, her three sons and daughter had only been in the house just two months after being forced to leave their previous home when the older boys moved in following the untimely death of their father, Andrew.

He died suddenly in June last year after he collapsed and toppled over a low wall on his way home.

Saturday's fire is believed to have been started by a defective lighter which set fire to a mattress.

The roof and bulk of the first floor were destroyed, while around half of the ground floor of the property suffered water damage.

A neighbouring house also had minor smoke damage as firefighters, including back-up from Minehead and Dulverton, battled for almost four hours to extinguish the blaze.

The fire was the end of a punishing weekend for Dulverton firefighters who had already spent much of the previous day fighting a heath fire between Simonsbath and Exford.

Around 1,500 acres of grass went up in flames in a suspected arson attack which saw a dozen engines and up to 90 firefighters battling three separate fire fronts at Dry Hill last Friday and Saturday.

The blaze cost farmer Andrew Hawkins thousands of pounds after some 900 acres of grass earmarked as winter bedding for his cattle went up in smoke.

Mr Hawkins, of Warren Farm, near Simonsbath, rents land from Exmoor National Park Authority and said the fire had wiped out ten years of moor management in the area.

Graham Wills, head of conservation and land management for the authority, said numerous wildlife habitats had also been destroyed, including those favoured by skylarks, meadow pipits and snipe.

"This is a devastating loss of Mr Hawkins and the cost to him, the wildlife and the public purse is enormous - it will be some time before the landscape is restored," he said.

"We would like to thank the fire service very much for their efforts in tackling the blaze."

Firefighters from Dulverton were the first on the scene just before 4pm on Friday and quickly called for back up when they realised the scale of blaze.

Crews from Lynton were mobilised, together with support from Wiveliscombe and the off-road Supa Cat from Porlock.

But as the fire continued to gather pace, fanned by strong winds and aided by tinder-dry grasses, further firefighters from Minehead, Williton, Nether Stowey, Bridgwater and Taunton were called in.

As well as having to battle their way to the inaccessible fire fronts, crews were further hampered by boggy ground underfoot.

Several vehicles had to be pulled to safety by tractors driven by local farmers, while the 6x6 Supa Cat was also used to bring around 25 firefighters back to terra firma after they got bogged down in the soggy ground.

Many of the firefighters had walked for over an hour to tackle the fire, while members of the Dulverton crew remained on site from 4pm right through until 11pm.

The team were forced to abandon their efforts due to the conditions and darkness, but their colleagues remained on site overnight to monitor the situation.

Although one of the three fire fronts was extinguished by crews early on Friday evening, the remaining two finally had the dampers put on them by overnight rain.

By 10am on Saturday, Dulverton and Porlock firefighters were left dealing with hotspots which continued to flare, and the blaze site was not declared "out" until 4pm in the afternoon.

One firefighter who was called to the moor said: "Without the overnight rain it could have quadrupled in size.

"Thankfully it did rain and by then the fire front had reached a dry stone wall, which slowed it down.

"The crews were exhausted by the end and Dulverton almost had it, but for safety's sake they had to be withdrawn.

"I think we'd all like to thank the local landowners and farmers who came to help with their tractors."