Eight crews from Halstead, Wethersfield, Saffron Walden, Dunmow and Suffolk services from Clare and Haverhill were called to a thatched roof fire in Finkle Green, Birdbrook, at 9.11am.

On arrival, crews reported that the thatched roof of a cottage was fully alight.

Firefighters worked together to remove the thatch from the roof and extinguished the fire in sections. ]

An aerial ladder platform from Colchester was also used to help extinguish the fire from above.

Due to a difficult water supply, a water bowser from Halstead was set up to shuttle water to the scene.

Firefighters extinguished the fire by 1.35pm and believe the fire started in a chimney flue of a log burner.

The roof has been destroyed and there has been extensive fire and smoke damage to the rest of the property.

Station manager Scott Fretton said: “Crews worked really hard with limited water supplies to get the fire under control.

“Firefighters worked quickly to remove the thatch from the roof to access the fire and worked to prevent it spreading to neighbouring buildings.”

The Cod Army lost for the first time in five matches in League Two, after second-half goals from Lyle Taylor, Owura Edwards and Jack Payne secured victory for the U’s at the JobServe Community Stadium.

Fleetwood had their chances in a goal-less first half, with Mackenzie Hunt and Mark Helm spurning good opportunities, before Colchester took control, scoring three times after the break.

Wild said: “It was really frustrating.

“In the first half, we had the better of the play, we had the better of the opportunities but ultimately not taken those opportunities.

“At half-time, it was very much a case of let’s make sure we keep things tight and defend properly and our chances will come.

“I thought in the first ten minutes of the second half we did that but ultimately, when they got the first goal, we just didn’t play to the levels that we should play to, I think is the most positive way of putting that.

“I felt that when they’d scored the first goal, Colchester, without doing a lot, controlled us and our opportunities at goal became not great, for want of a better word and we didn’t really have that attacking threat that we’d had first half.

“We tried to bring subs on to liven that up but sadly, that wasn’t the case.

“My summary is that there was nothing in the game, they’ve taken their chances when they’ve come and we haven’t and then when they scored, we never looked like scoring which is a sad indictment of our second-half performance.”

Fleetwood were second best after half-time, as Colchester racked up a fifth straight win.

Wild continued: “We knew it was going to be a game of limited chances.

“It was the game we exactly thought it was going to be.