A derelict grade II-listed building in Codicote has been seriously damaged by fire for a second time in just over four years – with firefighters working through the night to battle the blaze at the thatched-roof house.

The Comet: It is not the first time firefighters have tackled a blaze at Node Court in Codicote - with crews pictured here fighting a serious fire in July 2015. Picture: @redsfirewatfordIt is not the first time firefighters have tackled a blaze at Node Court in Codicote - with crews pictured here fighting a serious fire in July 2015. Picture: @redsfirewatford (Image: Archant)

Eleven Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service crews - from Hatfield, Hertford, Hitchin, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City - attended after a call to Node Court in Drivers End Lane at just after midnight.

It was quickly established that the property was derelict, and nobody was inside.

By 1am the entire roof - which police have previously said is one of the largest thatched roofs in the UK - was alight, with 50 per cent of the two-storey property also ablaze.

At 2.50am there was a partial collapse so a safety area was extended, but the operation was scaled down at 4.30am and crews were damping down by 6.20am.

Station commander Sean Comerford said crews worked "hard throughout the night", and thanked colleagues from Herts Fire Control for their help and support.

A Herts police spokeswoman confirmed officers were also called and assisted at the scene, with investigations to establish the cause still ongoing.

It is not the first time the home has caught fire, after Joshua Bozier - from Kimpton, and later Whitwell - torched a vehicle in a car park outside the historic building in July 2015 which spread to the thatched roof and caused an estimated £3.5 million worth of damage.

Bozier was arrested two days later and after pleading guilty was jailed in March 2017 for three years and four months due to the extent of the damage to the roof.