Aftermath footage shows houses decimated by fire in Barnsley, UK

Aftermath footage shows houses decimated by fire in Barnsley, UK on the hottest day on record.

Four homes were destroyed after the fire spread rapidly and tore through properties in Woodland Drive in Barnsley, South Yorks., within minutes.

Another house nearby was badly damaged while gardens have been damaged by the inferno.

It is believed the fire started when children living at one of the pre-fab houses started a fire between the garden shed and the boundary fence just after 3.30pm on Tuesday.

Heroic neighbours fought the flames with a hosepipe and rescued residents as they waited for the fire brigade to arrive as crews were tied up elsewhere.

CCTV footage shows smoke emerging from the scene before flames quickly take hold and the inferno spreads.

Dramatically, the fire spreads and the camera cuts off as the UPVC conservatory frame the camera is sat on melts under the intense heat.

Married father-of-one Carl Fox, whose CCTV captured the beginning of the blaze, said he was 'five or ten minutes' from losing his house.

Carl, who was at work at the time, said his house was saved because heroic neighours had removed a fence panel to get access to his garden to help dampen the fire.

He said: "The first thing I knew about it was when of the neighbours rang my video door bell.

"I rushed home from work and some neighbours had lifted a fence panel out to get them out of the houses and start getting a hosepipe on the fire.

"That stopped it spreading and saved our house because left a six foot gap between wooden fence panels that it had taken hold of.

"Luckily we went for concrete posts when we had the fence panels put in."

Carl's garden was ravaged by the fire but his house was spared.