A fire at the Catford Prefab Museum has destroyed the ceiling, walls and its memorabilia leaving its curator "devastated."

The front bedroom was destroyed with smoke damage throughout the museum following the blaze on Thursday afternoon.

Curator Elisabeth Blanchet said an investigation is underway into the cause of the blaze.

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The museum will remain closed while an investigation is being conducted

She said: “I went to the museum on Thursday morning as I had two groups booked to arrive and when I got there, there was a fire coming from the front room.

“I’m very shocked this has happened. It’s devastating. We saw that everything in the front bedroom has been ruined and there was an extensive amount of smoke going into the bathroom. There’s a terrible smell there even now.”

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Elisabeth Blanchet has run the museum since March

Originally built by German prisoners of war in 1945 and 1946, the prefab museum on Meliot Road has been run by the photographer since March and only last month received a last minute mystery donation of £15,000 to keep the site open.

Ms Blanchet turned the site into a pop-up exhibition of photos, memorabilia and filmed interviews about the 187 prefabs.

All but the six Grade II listed bungalows will be demolished following Lewisham Council’s approval of a redevelopment plan in 2010 to build new homes on the site.

But Ms Blanchet said there will be clean-up operation to repair the damage to the historical site.

She said: “I’m so grateful that people have been so supportive when they heard of the incident. We’ve had lots of really lovely messages on our Facebook page.”

The museum will remain closed while an investigation is underway.