A SEVEN-months pregnant woman and her partner are without their home after fire ripped through the roof and upper floor and extensively damaged their house on New Year's Eve.

The fire broke out at the detached Victorian house off the main A283 Petworth Road near Wormley on Monday afternoon.

It almost completely destroyed the roof and some of the dormer windows. The top floor was also badly damaged and there was smoke and water damage to the rest of the house.

Neighbours raised the alarm at lunchtime and there were initial fears that the couple were trapped inside the burning house.

Firemen using breathing apparatus searched the building but the couple, Belinda Torry and Andy Hart, were both out and only discovered the fire when they returned home later.

More than 45 firefighters, from fire crews from as far afield as Dorking, Dunsfold, Farnham and Guildford fought the major fire as flames and thick black smoke threatened to engulf the large house.

At the height of the blaze, which took more than two hours to bring under control, 24 firemen using breathing apparatus, three jets and four hose reels were in attendance.

Two crews from Haslemere, a full-time and retained crew were called to the scene as well as a water carrier from Dorking and Farnham and a salvage tender from Pains Hill near Cobham. Fire crews from Cranleigh also attended later once the fire was brought under control.

Water from a nearby swimming pool was used to fight the blaze until water carriers arrived on the scene and firemen were still at the scene nearly seven hours after the fire broke out, working in sub-zero temperatures damping down and fixing tarpaulins to what remained of the roof.

This week the couple were coming to terms with the devastating loss of much of their home.

Ms Torry told The Herald that she was out buying baby clothes at the time of the fire.

She said she had seen been told by a fire investigation officer that he thought the reflection of the sun on a bathroom mirror may have set a windowsill alight, but added that it was still too early to be sure.

"We had almost got the nursery ready for out new baby and Andy had just finished refurbishing the second floor.

"All his hard work has gone up in smoke," she said.

The couple, said Ms Torry, had been working on the house for six years and Mr Hart had installed many of the fixtures himself.

She said they were both very depresssed about some irreplaceable items including reels of cine film of Mr Hart's family which were also lost in the fire.

Ms Torry thanked everyone for their help, especially neighbours who had been very supportive.

Ms Torry continued: "The firemen covered a lot of the furniture in the downstairs rooms with waterproof tarpaulins, so were should be able to salvage some of it.

"It is such a shame that we will have to start all over again with the redecoration project, especially as we thought we had finally completed most of the hard work," she added.