A family who spent nine years creating their dream home are devastated after a fire ripped through the building.

Anna and Jim Marcham, and their daughters Ellie, four, and Josie, two and a half, have been staying with family since the blaze destroyed their home at Long Clough Farm on Buxton New Road in Macclesfield Forest.

Much of the stone roof is now collapsed into the historic building, parts of which date back to 1638.

Anna and Jim lived started renovating the formerly derelict farmhouse and barns nine years ago.

They lived in a caravan on the site for two and a half years before their daughters were born as they worked on the refurbishment.

After they moved into the house and continued to do it up to complete their dream family home.

But this week a fire, which was thought to start in a log burner, spread through the house and has completely destroyed the home. It started at around 8.30am on Friday, when four fire crews were called after Jim spotted the fire.

Anna said: “Me and the girls weren’t in the house luckily, we’d gone out to nursery then I went to work. But Jim was here.

“He thought it was a small fire at first but very quickly it wasn’t.

“We don’t know what happened. It was awful, there were strong winds and it was dry so the fire just spread so quickly.

“I can’t describe how it felt. We spent so long renovating the house.

“We lived in a static caravan here before the girls came along so we could work on the house. It’s devastating after nine years creating our dream family home, and now it’s destroyed.”

Two fire engines from Macclesfield, one from Bollington, one from Wilmslow and a water bowser from Derbyshire tackled the blaze through the afternoon and Red Cross volunteers helped the family.

Anna said: “The fire brigade were wonderful and so were the Red Cross who helped keep us warm and took care of us. We are so thankful to the community and our family. It’s been such an awful shock.”

Fire investigation officers attended and a spokesman from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said they believe the fire started in a log burner.

Keith Brooks, head of Prevention and Protection said: “With temperatures dropping recently and the number of calls relating to wood burning stoves and chimney fires increasing. it has prompted this safety call to help keep people and their families safe from fire.”