Some 20 fire engines were called to Parnham House in Dorset after flames engulfed the Grade I listed building. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted images of the blaze after emergency services arrived at about 4.25am. The house is believed to be privately owned by Michael and Emma Treichl who renovated the site eight years ago. All occupants have been accounted for. A spokeswoman for Dorset Police said officers are investigating how the blaze started and have not ruled out suspicious circumstances. The mansion has been around for centuries with some of the oldest parts dating back to the 1500s. It was the site of the brutal 1645 murder of Lady Ann Strode, whose husband Sir John is pictured inset, by a soldier under the command of Colonel Thomas Fairfax - commander-in-chief of the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War.
Putin taunts Britain again: Two Russian warships are escorted through English Channel by Royal Navy for the second time in just months amid escalating global tension
The Ministry of Defence has published two photographs of a Russian warship sailing close to English waters this afternoon. It confirmed Royal Navy frigate HMS Sutherland spotted the two ships this morning and will escort the corvettes, Soobrazitelny and Boiky, as they sail through the English Channel tonight. Commander Andrew Canale, the Commanding Officer of HMS Sutherland, said: 'As one of the Royal Navy's high readiness units, HMS Sutherland is required to escort warships that approach the UK and this task is considered routine business for us. It is vitally important the Royal Navy demonstrates its presence and commitment to the integrity of UK territorial waters as we work around the clock to secure the seas of our island nation.'
- Ruined in hours: Police probe 'suspicious' inferno which gutted stunning stately home that survived 500 years including being the scene of a Civil War bloodbath
- Putin taunts Britain again: Two Russian warships are escorted through English Channel by Royal Navy amid escalating global tension
- Former vicar, 78, is branded 'Judas' after coming out as gay and announcing plans to marry Romanian toyboy 54 years his junior who he met on a dating site
- Italian woman who ate two raw eggs EVERY day and was the last known survivor of the 19th century dies at the age of 117
- Mini Egg fans accuse Cadbury’s owners of CHANGING the recipe of the Easter chocolates leaving them ‘tasting like a cheap knock-off’
- HSBC customer who gave a staff member her bank card to be destroyed is horrified to discover it was later used to buy drinks in STARBUCKS
- Children as young as 12 have been TASERED by UK police who have fired the devices at 140 youngsters in just four years
- REVEALED: Personal details of thousands of UK drivers 'are exposed in huge data breach' as car parking app used by councils across Britain shows users other motorists' information
- Labour’s Shadow Justice minister in ‘Nazi images’ row after he performs with a band ‘that uses Hitler’s SS logo’
- Clarifications and corrections
- Bride-to-be sells her wedding dress on Facebook for £100 after calling the ceremony off claiming her fiancé 'cheated on her with son's godmother'
- Mother is jailed for neglect after her faeces-covered son, three, was found wandering the streets naked
- Family of British student, 20, stabbed to death on a tram in Jerusalem say they are ‘devastated by the senseless attack’ on their ‘talented and passionate’ daughter
- Lesbian couple give birth to babies within three weeks of each other after getting pregnant at the same time from £10 online sperm donor
- Trump and circumstance: US president insists on GOLD-plated welcome with procession down The Mall in the Queen’s royal carriage during his UK visit in October
- Mayor of Liverpool calls for Sun columnist Kelvin MacKenzie to be SACKED after complaining to police over his 'racist' article comparing a mixed-race footballer to a gorilla
- The rise and fall of the Englishman: Analysis of 4,700 skeletons reveal Britons have grown both taller and shorter over time
- Tragedy as NFL star Todd Heap accidentally runs over and kills his three-year-old daughter at their mansion in Arizona
- Husband and wife discover they are twins after shock DNA test: Married couple learn they are siblings after routine test at IVF clinic
- North Korean ballistic missile launch FAILS: Kim Jong-un launches new 'game changer missile' hours after it was introduced at a military parade - but it BLOWS UP almost immediately in embarrassing failure
- Kim shows off the weapons he believes will 'annihilate' the West: North Korean dictator declares he can take on Trump in nuclear war as he surprises experts by revealing new 'game-changing' missiles
- Janet Jackson's estranged husband Wissam Al Mana takes their newborn son Eissa for a stroll through the park and feeds him after posting note thanking the singer for her 'divine love' before their split
- 'We got him': Suspect who 'raped and murdered' Google exec jogger is arrested eight months after her naked and burned body was found in Massachusetts town
- Five-year-old boy is crushed to death at popular rotating restaurant after getting pinned between a wall and the spinning table
- April the world famous giraffe FINALLY gives birth at NY zoo after prolonged pregnancy - as at least 1.2million people watch online
- Anti-Trump protest turns into a massive brawl: Hundreds of Tax Day protesters trade punches with Donald supporters in Berkeley
- Devastating aftermath of the 'Mother of all Bombs': Children play among the rubble in Afhgan town where Trump dropped the explosive - killing 94 militants including four ISIS leaders
- Trump and circumstance: US president insists on GOLD-plated welcome with procession down The Mall in the Queen’s royal carriage during his UK visit in October
- Adding insult to injury: United did NOT take passenger's bags off his plane after he was dragged off - then sent his luggage to the WRONG address hundreds of miles from where he was hospitalized
- North Korean soldiers who compared Kim Jong-un to a mentally ill child in extremely unwise joke are arrested and face DEATH penalty
- Girls as young as 12 are slashed with razor blades in Ethiopian scarring ceremony that sees youngsters ‘cut to be beautiful’
- Navy reservist Commander Sean Spicer goes to the Pentagon in full uniform to fulfill his duties at the public affairs office
- Could this ballistic missile one day nuke the west coast of America? Kim Jong-un unveils huge new weapon at 'Day of the Sun' parade
- 'He's not a jerk!': Fiancée of stock broker who 'stopped dating hot women because they are full of themselves' defends her boyfriend
- MOST READ IN DETAIL
Bride-to-be sells her wedding dress on Facebook for £100 after calling the ceremony off claiming her fiancé 'cheated on her with son's godmother'
Kerry Wilkinson (left), 27, of Dunfermline, advertised her wedding dress on the Facebay Fife Facebook page for £100 (inset). In the post she claimed her ex Dave Notman (right) cheated on her with her friend, which went viral. But he has slammed the claims, saying the pair split up because the relationship was no longer working.
Chaos for thousands of British holidaymakers as passengers FAINT in huge queues at Majorca's Palma airport due to increased security checks
Footage shows a sea of holidaymakers forced to wait in endless lines snaking through the airport's terminal. Passengers were told the delays were down to 'increased security checks'. Paramedics were put on standby to give medical assistance to anyone who was taken ill during the chaos. The delays come amid frosty relations between Britain and Spain over the issue of Gibraltar's sovereignty.
WORLD TEETERS ON THE BRINK OF WAR
Kim shows off the weapons he believes will 'annihilate' the West: North Korean dictator declares he can take on Trump in nuclear war as he surprises experts by revealing new 'game-changing' missiles
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gleefully applauded as he watched a display of the country's military might during the secretive state's Day of the Sun - and his regime warned of an 'annihilating strike' if the US attacks. Kim saluted formations of soldiers at a parade to mark the 105th anniversary of his grandfather's birth, when ominous-looking intercontinental ballistic missile prototypes (bottom right) were flaunted.
Blame it UN the boogie! Adoring North Koreans dance the night away in front of gleeful leader Kim Jong-un after their Day of the Sun celebrations
Hundreds of thousands of exhausted North Koreans danced the night away in the streets of capital Pyongyang during its annual Day of the Sun celebration. Revellers, dressed in their finest clothes, stand holding plastic flowers in the sun for hours, before continuing the festivities into the night. Many were left in tears after catching a glimpse of despot leader Kim Jong-un during the annual holiday - held to mark the birthday of the nation's founder, and Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Sung.
The daily rind: Police anger after officers are mocked for enjoying bacon sandwiches and tea in the sun while on the job
A photo of police officers enjoying the sun with tea and bacon sarnies (pictured) in Plymouth has drawn criticism from locals, one of whom said he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the officers lounging. But commentators online, including other police officers, say they are perfectly entitled to take a break.
Police escort 23 drink-fuelled men from two stag-parties off a Jet2 flight to Prague after the captain returns the plane from the runway to the terminal
A flight from Manchester to Prague was delayed after 23 passengers were 'off-loaded'. Two separate stag parties were due to fly out at 3.15pm in the Jet2 service but their raucous behaviour meant the flight hadn't departed some three hours later. Passengers reported how officers initially escorted three people from two different stag parties off the jet (pictured, right). Some of the remaining members of the two groups are then said to have protested and were also allowed to leave. In all police were reported to have returned four times to remove passengers from the plane.
'Security is really tight on campus so no worries at moment': British student Hannah Bladon, 21, who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian in Jerusalem told concerned friends she was okay amid terror fears in the Israeli holy city
The British tourist who was killed during a knife attack in Israel on Good Friday has been named as Hannah Bladon. The 20-year-old was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen with a kitchen knife on a tram close to the Old City, where thousands of Christians had gathered. Police have arrested Jamil Tamimi, 57, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem who was described as mentally unstable, after onlookers wrestled him to the ground. Ms Bladon (left), who was a student at the University of Birmingham, travelled to Israel to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Medics performed CPR on the young woman at the scene (right) before she was taken to hospital in critical condition, where she later died. Mark Regev, Israel's ambassador to the UK, said: 'My thoughts are with the family and friends of UK student Hannah Bladon, who was murdered in a senseless act of terror in Jerusalem today.'
‘He’s like Donald Trump!’ Neighbours of millionaire accountant who refuses to tear down his back-garden leisure centre say it's 'one rule for him, one for everyone else' and reveal they are also fighting him over sprawling TREES
Graham Wildin, 65, from Gloucestershire, has until July 7 to knock down the 10,000 square foot leisure centre which he built in his back garden which includes everything from a gym (top left) to a bowling alley (bottom left). The humongous complex even includes a cinema (insert). He was told two years ago that it breaches planning rules and neighbours complained it spoilt their view (bottom right). But the defiant businessman, who runs a successful accountancy firm, is continuing his fight to keep the centre and has no plans to destroy it any time soon.
Bunnies in the money! The TV star rabbits which are so in demand they've got their own agents - and they are making a nest egg for their owners
The average punter doesn’t realise that these fluffy models are highly trained – and well paid. One-year-old Topaz earned £1,000 after it appeared in Tom Hardy drama Taboo. Record-breaking rabbit Darius (inset) was hired for Tamara Ecclestone's daughter's party. Pambe (right), a three-year-old lionhead rabbit, was scouted by Stella McCartney. Two-year-old Rex rabbit Fluffy (left) has earned £2,000 after featuring in a Body Shop marketing campaign and a shoot for Good Housekeeping magazine.
Easter carnage as drunken revellers take advantage of the four-day Bank Holiday weekend and end up rather worse for wear
Hundreds of people have been spotted taking advantage of the Easter break in typical British fashion by having a big night out, but plenty in Liverpool ended up looking worse for wear (bottom right). With Good Friday and Easter Monday providing extra days off along with the weekend, many saw it as a chance to let their hair down (left). But some took it to extremes, with men in Liverpool pictured wheeling each other around in shopping trolleys (top right) as they got overexcited.
Pensioner, 73, whose £3,000 landscaped garden is damaged by neighbours' footballs is stunned as police tell her if she doesn't return them she will be charged with THEFT
Penny Freeman (pictured, right), 73, has spent £3,000 on the walled garden (left) at her Victorian semi in Bridlington, East Yorkshire. But she says the children living in the houses adjacent are wreaking havoc with her hard work - as they keep ballooning balls (their goal is pictured, inset) over the 1.5 metre high wall and smashing her plants. With no-one coming round to fetch back the balls or apologise for the damage, Penny decided to keep the balls so the children would 'learn the consequences'. But the 73-year-old was mystified when her neighbours complained their balls weren't being returned - and two officers turned up at her door.
European couple say they are 'devastated' after the Home Office denies their London-born children, aged 12 and 15, permanent UK residency
Jan-Dinant Schreuder and Monica Obiols (together left) have lived in Britain for decades, but decided to apply for the right to remain in Britain after 'panicking' in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. The Home Office approved their requests to remain. But their children (pictured together, right) - who were born in Britain - had their applications refused because Mr Schreuder and his partner were born abroad. Mr Schreuder, who was born in Holland but has lived in Britain since he was three, and Ms Obiols, a Spanish native, said officials sent them a letter claiming there was not enough evidence showing the children’s life in the UK. Mr Schreuder applied for indefinite leave to remain, while Ms Obiols applied for a permanent residency card for herself and their son, 15, and 12-year-old daughter. The pair wanted to have paperwork in case they ever needed to prove their status in post-Brexit Britain. But despite issuing the couple with the cards, the Home Office sent notices to the children stating that their applications had been refused.
Why mini supermarkets are a big swizz: Chains are charging up to 23% more than their full-size stores for the SAME products
Supermarkets are shutting their larger outlets in favour of opening more convenience stores in a rush to take advantage of our increasing desire to do more ‘top-up’ shopping trips, and fewer big out-of-town shops. Back in 2011, Sainsbury’s had fewer than 400 Sainsbury’s Local stores: now it has more than 800. Little Waitrose did not exist a decade ago, but now there are 64 outlets. But are shoppers getting a fair deal? The supermarkets all argue that while their aim is to maintain value for customers, the extra convenience of longer opening hours and more central locations mean increased running costs in these stores, which translate into higher prices. Yet the price differences between shops belonging to the same supermarket chain can be eye-watering - here, we reveal the hidden cost of your ‘convenience’ shop.
WESTMINSTER TODAY
- Nicola Sturgeon is accused of 'living in dreamland' after she insists second Scottish independence vote would NOT be divisive and MUST be held before Brexit
- Boris Johnson's useless £323,000 water cannons have STILL not sold despite months on the market because of German red tape and no-one 'ethical' wanting to buy them
- Northern Ireland's squabbling politicians are told to strike a deal by next month or face the prospect of direct rule from Westminster for the first time in a DECADE
WATCH: TODAY'S TOP NEWS VIDEOS
-
HEAVILY PREGNANT DOG HAS PUPPIES KICKING...
Heavily pregnant dog has shows puppy litter kicking inside stomachplay video
-
BAD PARKER GETS BLOCKED BY TWO JEEPS TO...
A couple of pranksters decide to park two jeeps either side of an...play video
-
SILVERBACK GORILA ATTACKS A GROUP OF...
The tourists were bundled to the ground by the silverback before the guide of...play video
-
AARON HERNANDEZ WEEPS AS HE IS FOUND NOT...
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been found guilty of...play video
-
NORTH KOREA'S FOREIGN MINISTER BLAMES...
North Korea's vice foreign minister Han Song Ryol, has spoken in a rare...play video
-
RAPTUROUS RECEPTION FOR KIM JONG UN...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opens the Ryomyong street residential complex as...play video
-
FILIPINO CATHOLICS RE-ENACT JESUS...
Filipino Catholics in the northern province of Pampanga crucify themselves on...play video
-
MEGA BLAST AFTER RUSSIA TESTS NON-ATOMIC...
This is believed to be the world's most powerful vacuum bomb, having shockwaves...play video
-
FIRST EVER TRAILER UNVEILED FOR STAR...
The trailer for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi was unveiled with much...play video
-
CHAOS AS COMMUTERS FLEE PENN STATION...
Chaotic moment as commuters flee Penn Station fearing shooting scareplay video
-
WOMAN WHO DRESSED AS WITCH TO ABUSE...
Oklahoma woman Geneva S. Robinson sentenced to three life sentences for child...play video
-
CAUGHT IN ACTION! JAY VOOM STANDING...
Joseph John Schmidt III aka Jay Voom caught filming a scene with two brunettesplay video
-
'MOTHER OF ALL BOMBS' TESTED BY THE US...
US tests the 'mother of all bombs' in 2003. The same bomb was used today during...play video
-
MUSLIM WOMAN REFUSES TO REMOVE HIJAB FOR...
Aghnia Adzkia was passing through security when she was allegedly asked to take...play video
-
MOMENT ARMOURED TRUCK OF ISIS MILITANTS...
An unverified video has been posted by the Popular Mobilisation Unit in Iraq. It...play video
-
PANTS DOWN PERFORMANCE! TALENT SHOW...
Pants down performance! Contestants on Greece's version of Britain's Got Talent...play video
-
HEAVILY PREGNANT DOG HAS PUPPIES KICKING...
Heavily pregnant dog has shows puppy litter kicking inside stomachplay video
-
BAD PARKER GETS BLOCKED BY TWO JEEPS TO...
A couple of pranksters decide to park two jeeps either side of an...play video
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
At least 100 people dead as a suicide car bomb hits convoy of buses evacuating residents from the clutches of ISIS to safe havens in Syria
At least 100 people have died as a suicide car bomb hit a convoy of buses evacuating residents close to the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo. The lethal blast, believed to be a car bomb, happened at a transit point for Syrians being taken to safe havens on the outskirts of the city. Initial reports on Syrian state television claim 43 people died in the explosion in a rebel-held area, and left dozens wounded.
WORLD NEWS
- Italian Emma Morano, last known survivor of 19th century, dies at 117
- At least 100 people dead as a suicide car bomb hits convoy of buses evacuating residents from the clutches of ISIS to safe havens in Syria
- Kim shows off the weapons he believes will 'annihilate' the West: North Korean dictator declares he can take on Trump in nuclear war as he surprises experts by revealing new 'game-changing' missiles
- The headline that nearly sparked WWIII: Chinese official news agency mistakenly says North Korea LAUNCHES missile during parade rather than displays it
- North Korean soldiers who compared Kim Jong-un to a mentally ill child in extremely unwise joke are arrested and face DEATH penalty
- America flexes its muscle in South Korea as U.S. Army conducts defense exercises amid growing tensions with North Korea
- Special forces raid, missile strike, cyber warfare or MORE negotiations: Trump's choices for dealing with Kim Jong-un - but experts say there are NO good options
- He knows he can't win but it would be an unimaginable humiliation for him to back down: In a deadly game of dare, Kim Jong-un will take the suicide option, says MARK ALMOND
- Blame it UN the boogie! Adoring North Koreans dance the night away in front of gleeful leader Kim Jong-un after their Day of the Sun celebrations
- Putin taunts Britain again: Two Russian warships are escorted through English Channel by Royal Navy amid escalating global tension
- French election farce: Polling card blunder means 500,000 people could vote TWICE and could spell peril for Marine Le Pen
- Husband and wife discover they are twins after shock DNA test: Married couple learn they are siblings after routine test at IVF clinic
- Tragedy as NFL star Todd Heap accidentally runs over and kills his three-year-old daughter at their mansion in Arizona
- Trump and circumstance: US president insists on GOLD-plated welcome with procession down The Mall in the Queen's royal carriage during his UK visit in October
- Devastating aftermath of the 'Mother of all Bombs': Children play among the rubble in Afhgan town where Trump dropped the explosive - killing 94 militants including four ISIS leaders
- 'An ear-splitting blast then it felt like the heavens were falling in': Afghan villagers describe the terrifying moment the US dropped the Mother Of All Bombs on ISIS terrorists
- Arkansas attorney general fights to overturn ruling that blocks the state from using a lethal injection drug after the judge was spotted at an anti-death penalty protest
- Julian Assange fires back at CIA boss after director declared Wikileaks was a 'hostile intelligence service'
- Microsoft says that its users ARE protected from alleged NSA spying tools dumped online
- America launches first test flights for upgraded nuclear bomb over Nevada desert
Wires: Latest Headlines
Girls as young as 12 are slashed with razor blades in Ethiopian scarring ceremony that sees youngsters ‘cut to be beautiful’
'Blood running, flies going into the wounds, under a hard sun,' was how photographer Eric Lafforgue described the process which he witnessed in the Surma tribe from the Omo valley in Ethiopia . He said that the young girl maintained a stoic silence while her mother stretched her daughter's skin and cut it with a razor for 10 minutes. A tradition in the tribe, he said: '[She] did NOT say any word during the ten minutes ceremony, and did NOT show any pain. 'I asked her if it was not too hard to have her skin cut with a razor blade, and she answered that she was close to collapse!' Young girls are being cut with knives and razor blades to create prominent scars considered beautiful in tribal societies in Ethiopia.