More than 300 animals were saved following a large blaze which took hold at two thatched properties.

Firefighter were called to the blaze at the homes close to the A22 Hailsham Road in Polegate at 6.20pm last night.

Crews from Hailsham, Eastbourne, Forest Row, Uckfield, Herstmonceux, Seaford, Bexhill, Heathfield and Lewes worked through the night to tackle the blaze, which is now under control.

They were challenged with preventing the fire spreading to a bottle gas distribution site and an by ponies, chickens, geese, ducks and an owl - all of which are safe and being looked after.

The animals belonged to Animal Magic, an entertainment and educational business that provides hands-on animal experiences, amongst other services.

A statement on their website said: “Can everyone that has made a booking for 2015 contact us as soon as possible, as we have had a house fire and lost the diary and computers.

“All animals are safe and we will endeavour to honour all our bookings.”

A spokeswoman from East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: "There was nobody involved - they were all out of the property ok. As of 7am today (Thursday) there is one engine there. It's been scaled down and they are just monitoring hotspots and making the area safe."

The A22 southbound at Polegate was closed because of the incident.

Incident Commander Mark Rist said: "Whilst the cottage roof was lost, no one was injured and the hard work of the crews prevented the fire spreading to a range of buildings close to the fire which house in excess of 300 animals and birds.

"They also stopped the fire spreading to the adjacent bottle gas distribution site. We used the water carrier and appliances for a water shuttle from Polegate.

"At about midnight we scaled down the incident to maintain a watching brief. It is expect we will remain on site this morning." 

The Red Cross Fire Victim Support Unit attended to offer assistance to the occupiers and looking after crew welfare.

An investigation was launched and concluded the fire was accidental, possibly caused by a spark igniting a thatched roof.

The fire and rescue service has been handed over the site to building control.