Smoke billowed from a grade II listed farmhouse in Hampshire after a blaze tore through its thatch roof.

Fire services claimed to have "saved the house", which is said to be owned by a multimillionaire TV mogul as his second home on Lower Street in Braishfield, Romsey.

Up tp 76 firefighters were called to the scene at 1.10pm yesterday but the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The owner has been named locally as media executive David Frank, 58. The TV mogul’s company Zodiak Media is behind hits such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and comedy The Inbetweeners.

Tony Deacon, Southampton Senior Fireman said: “We have saved the house. About 75 per cent is okay, but the fire has torn through the roof over a lot of the house, but there’s not as much damage to anything underneath as there might have been.

“We had 76 fire personnel on the scene and it’s important to note how hard they have all worked to save the property. We were called at 1.10pm and the fire was well alight when we arrived.

“It’s a complicated structure due to the extensions of the original property.  No one was in the house, and therefore no one has been hurt.”

The origin of the blaze is not known, with the fire taking an hour to get under control.

A neighbour who did not want to be named said: “I saw them all come past earlier this afternoon. I’ve been really impressed with the speed and efficiency of the fire services.

“It’s so shocking, especially for me as I live right opposite the house and have a thatched roof as well. You never expect something like this to happen in front of you.”

Mike Harris, 65, who lives on the street, said: “The first I knew of the fire was when I heard sirens going off. I could see flames and heavy smoke but I don’t think anyone was injured, the people who own it don’t always live there.

“We’ve never had anything like this happen before, and I’ve been here 20 years.”

Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "The first we heard of it was when my wife heard fire engines.

"We heard more engines and I thought 'this must be something big', so I poked my head outside and there was lots of smoke as well as fire engines and ambulances.

"You could barely see across the street because the smoke was so thick. It is the barn at the house which is on fire, and the house is a listed building.

"It looks like a gas attack or something with all the smoke. There is so much activity going on there at the moment with all the emergency services and everything, I'm not sure if they've got it under control.

"I know that the owners are away a lot, they are quite a big deal - he works in TV."

One woman who lives on the quiet road said: "The farmhouse has suffered a hell of a lot of damage. We've got 10 fire engines outside battling it.

"The cottage was awfully pretty, it's such a shame. I'm not sure what's caused it."