AN INVESTIGATION is underway following the death of 12 horses in a suspicious stable fire.
Fire services were alerted to the fire at Elmwood Equestrian Centre in Burnham, Essex, sortly before 11.30pm last night.
Passers-by spotted the fire in the large stable building and immediately called 999, and did everything they could to save some horses from the building.
However despite their best efforts, a number of horses died at the scene.
Station Manager for Essex Fire Service Craig McLellan, said:"When firefighters arrived they found the fire was already well developed. The whole building was alight and the roof had collapsed.
"Firefighters worked hard to tackle the fire and stop it from spreading to any other building and worked throughout the night to extinguish the fire."
They said the cause of the fire is still unknown at this stage, and the investigation is underway to find out how the fire started.
In a statement, Essex Police said: "The fire is being treated as suspicious and investigations are taking place to determine the cause."
