A WOMBLE was destroyed by a fire in the loft of a Harrogate maisonette.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said several crews and an aerial ladder platform were sent to the property in Grantley Drive at 8.38pm on Sunday after the smell of burning in the loft area was reported.

Firefighters found a downlight had set fire to a toy Orinoco Womble and used a dry powder extinguisher to put out the blaze. "The Womble was 100 per cent damaged by fire and there was 5 per cent damage to the wiring," said a spokesman.