A CAR enthusiast has seen almost 30 years of work go up in smoke after the blaze which ripped through a large allotment in Padiham on Sunday night.

Allotment leaders have blasted the “sheer stupidity” of gardeners after a bonfire raged out of control and gutted a number of buildings and vehicles belonging to Bernard Dooley at the Fennyfold site, off Park Road.

Four fire crews were alerted to deal with the blaze, reported just after 8.30pm.

But firefighters had to withdraw after gas cylinders were discovered on the site, which Mr Dooley uses to repair and refit old Land Rovers.

Crew manager Darren Bowers, from Padiham Fire Station, said: “We have come to the conc-lusion this has been caused by a bonfire, close to the fence.

"In the dry conditions, the fire has spread to the fence and the buildings next door.

"People should be sure, in these conditions, that when they set fires they can keep them at a manageable level.”

Mr Dooley, of Lindsay Street, Burnley, also has a smallholding with chickens, which was left untouched by the fire.

He said: “I’ve been coming here every day for around 27 years.

"This is a real setback for me. I just fixed them up for people and there were parts and tools in there.

"There was just all the bits and bats I had in there down the years.

"But it hasn’t touched my greenhouse.”

Five Land Rovers, an excavator, five timber buildings, and one stone cabin were also wrecked.

Friends from the nearby Landscape Engineering company helped out the following day, removing debris, including old tools, timber frames, burnt-out wheels and twisted metalwork, from the yard.

Eric Fort, chairman of Fennyfold Allotments Society, said: “What they have done with the bonfire is nonsense, sheer stupidity.

"Years of work has gone into this allotment. The land next door was split up so more people could come onto the allotments.

"There must be a waiting list of around 200 people.”