A hotel hit by fire this weekend was back up and running within hours, bosses say, with a firefighter on the scene praising staff for their response.

The alarm was raised at 10.42am on Saturday morning when fire broke out at the MacDonald Compleat Angler.

It started in one of the hotel’s two restaurants Sindhu – run by Michelin star winning chef Atul Kochhar.

Marlow firefighter Dave James, who attended the blaze, said he believed the cause of the fire was a dehumidifier in the basement.

A full evacuation was made, and nobody was injured in the incident.

And Mr James, whose crew did not lead the operation, said he was impressed by the response of hotel staff.

He said: “We were the third pump in attendance. Luckily it did not spread and was contained to the room of origin.

“The hotel was in full evacuation and they did very well carrying out the procedure quickly. By the time we arrived everyone was accounted for.

"It means you can just concentrate on tackling the fire without worrying about anyone inside.”

Crews from Marlow, High Wycombe and Maidenhead and an officer arrived on the scene, recalling memories of a fire nearly four years later on the other side of the bridge at Marlow Rowing Club.

Firefighters used a jet, hose reel, PPV fans, a thermal imaging camera and four sets of breathing apparatus to put the fire out.

The four-star hotel has confirmed that normal service was resumed within a short time of firefighters leaving the hotel around midday.

A hotel spokesman said: “We can confirm that a small fire occurred in the basement area of the Sindhu Restaurant on Saturday morning.

“All guests and staff were evacuated safely and the hotel was back to running a full service by mid-afternoon on Saturday. As always, our main priority is the safety of our guests and employees.”