The Elveden Forest Center Parcs site in Suffolk will be closed for months after a serious blaze last week (April 4) triggered a full evacuation of about 3,500 holidaymakers.

No serious injuries were reported, although one staff member needed treatment for smoke inhalation and minor burns.

The success of the four-minute evacuation of guests and staff at the 400-acre site is being attributed to repetitive fire drills by staff and the expertise of the fire brigade, which pumped water from the park's artificial lakes to quench the flames.

Guests at the 13-year old village were sent home and future holiday bookings for more than 100,000 guests, set to occupy 680 chalets, will be have to be postponed or cancelled.

The cause of the Suffolk fire is still to be identified, but is thought to have started in one of the kitchens and started six days after Center Parcs re-opened one of its Dutch resorts following a fire in May, 2000. The company says an investigation was unable to discover the cause of the Dutch blaze.