A fire that devastated a £1 million home in Derbyshire was probably caused by a paperweight.

The weight was left on a windowsill on 24 May, on what was one of the hottest days so far this year.

Investigators believe that a concentration of sun rays from the glass onto a nearby stack of books caused the pile to go up in flames.

Fire crews were called at around 3.30 pm where they found the house well alight. At its height 25 firefighters tackled the blaze, using an aerial ladder platform and a water foam carrier.

Crews remained on the scene until 4.30 pm the next day. By then, most of the house, which is set in two acres of land, was gutted. The family was unharmed.

A spokesman from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service told info4fire: “It was a freak accident but there have been fires caused by things like this before, like spectacles.”