Firefighters from across Bradford district called to blaze in the roof of Upper Isle Farm, Oxenhope

The family "would have died" in the farmhouse inferno had their son not alerted them to a blaze that ripped through their moorland home.

The building "went up like a tinder box" just moments after six members of the Maudsley family evacuated their home.

The family have spoken of their narrow escape from the fire, which was tackled by more than 60 firefighters at its height.

The blaze broke out in the roof of the converted farmhouse on the moors above Oxenhope in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Phil and Julie Maudsley, their children Ben, Amber and Danielle, and Phil Maudsley's 81-year-old mother Maureen were all at home when the inferno erupted, but managed to get outside safely.

A fire crew from Illingworth was the first to arrive at Upper Isle Farm, soon after midnight.

Mr Maudsley said he and his wife were in bed when his 22-year-old son Ben alerted them to the smell of smoke.

After realising there was a fire in the attic, the whole family rushed out of the house.

Shortly afterwards, large flames started to come out of a skylight on the roof.

Mr Maudsley said: "If it hadn't been for Ben smelling the smoke we'd have died.

"By the time we got ourselves outside the whole thing just went up like a tinder box.

"The fire brigade did a brilliant job but the first floor is burned out and the ground floor is water damaged. We've lost everything."

The firefighters had to run hoses around a mile to the nearest hydrant during the four-hour battle to bring the blaze under control.

Some of the crews targeted water at an adjoining annexe to save it from the flames.

The fire is believed to have started in the roof void, but the cause remains under investigation.

Fire engines from Keighley, Bingley and Illingworth were initially sent to the scene.

But soon, additional crews were summoned from Shipley, Idle, Fairweather Green, Halifax and Mytholmroyd, along with specialist appliances and officers from around the county.

Illingworth watch commander Mark Hemingway said extra appliances were needed due to the difficulty accessing water to fight the blaze.

He said: “We had to get water from the bottom of the hill, from the hydrant.

"It’s probably about a mile to the road.

“The fire was well-developed by the time we got there.

"Everyone was out of the property.

“We couldn’t go into the building because of the risk of collapse with the stone slates.

"We had to fight the fire from outside."

One crew was able to direct water after an aerial appliance was brought to the scene from Halifax.

Mr Hemingway added: “We managed to protect an adjoining annexe and we tried to talk salvage as many items from the house as we could."

He said the fire was under control after about four hours.

Mr Maudsley, who runs an Accrington-based mail order business, said his family are in the process of renovating a property across the valley called High Binns Farm.

He added that this property currently does not have electricity or running water.

He said the blaze would mean the move would now have to happen sooner.

He said: "The plan was to move from here to there, and that is still the plan, but it might just be a bit quicker."

Mrs Maudsley paid tribute to her "fantastic" neighbours who have been helping her family in the aftermath of the fire.

The flames could be seen for miles around and people took to social media to give their accounts of what they could see.

One person wrote on Twitter: "Looks like a massive fire here in Oxenhope at the top of the village. Praying all are safe."

Another Twitter user said: "Huuuuge fire in Oxenhope - driving home could see it from miles away."