The offices were gutted by the fire

The administrative offices of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales were wrecked by fire late on Thursday night.

Hundreds of records and archives were lost in the blaze at the Parc Slip Centre in Tondu near Bridgend.

Initial estimates on the cost of repairing the damage are spiralling as staff begin to sift through the debris of their former offices.

The fire, thought to be caused by an electrical fault, completely burned out offices with the roof affected and smoke damage throughout the building.

The centre is the administrative base for Wales' biggest Wildlife Trust, which owns and manages more than 100 nature reserves across south and west Wales.

It's going to have a huge impact on our conservation work Madeleine Havard

It is feared that conservation work carried out by the trust will be seriously affected because of the loss of the records.

"It's going to have a huge impact on our conservation work, because a lot of our records and archive information will have been lost," said Madeleine Havard, director of operations for the trust.

"It will also affect our abilities to help partner organisations like local councils and other conservation bodies, which come to us for specialist help and advice on things like development plans.

"Hopefully, a lot of the information we need will be on our computer servers, but there will be a lot of paperwork which will have been destroyed."

It is still unclear how the fire started but it is believed that it began in an office at the rear of the single story building used by conservation officers.

Police and fire officers spent Friday investigating the scene.

The building is located at the Parc Slip Nature Reserve which covers 123 hectares and is a breeding ground for several rare species.