This is the moment a beautiful 1,000-year-old Norfolk church is devastated by flames after the thatched roof on the Grade I listed building caught fire during repair works.

St Marys Church in the village of Beachamwell in the English county of Norfolk was ravaged by flames during roofing work on the old building.

The fire brigade sent 10 engines to the scene at 10.44am on 2nd February.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Terry Pinto said: “It was a devastating fire for the community.

“Unfortunately, when we arrived, the roof was fully involved in fire and it had already spread to the main building of the church so it was all about damage limitation and trying to stop the impact on the wider community and environment.”

Pinto added: “The building is completely damaged by fire.

“Lots and lots of irreplaceable items, unfortunately, will be lost through the fire, which is a real shame.”

Meanwhile, engineers are assessing the risk of the church tower collapsing as the two bells weigh over a tonne each.

Pinto said: “We’re concerned about the tower… We want to ultimately leave the church in safe position for the community so there’s no risk of it collapsing later on.

“We’re hopeful that it is still stable, but unfortunately those bells are really heavy and they’re normally fixed with wooden fixings so we’re going to have to carry out more investigations before we leave the scene.”

A workman, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was “putting the lead roof on” the church with two colleagues when it caught fire.

He added: “The thatched roof was all rotten, there were thatchers working on it the other day and it was like dust, it just fell apart.

“We were doing a little bit of welding and a spark caught the thatched roof. And well look at it now, it’s mortifying.”

The building’s round tower was constructed in the 11th century and is said to be one of the earliest in the Norfolk area.

The investigation is ongoing.