Video: Farm fire destroys thousands of straw bales

Thousands of straw bales were destroyed when a fire engulfed farm buildings near Choppington, Northumberland, at the weekend.

Some 20,000cu m of straw and three agricultural vehicles are believed to have been destroyed in the blaze.

See also: Why on-farm water supply is critical to contain fires

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service said the fire at Whinney Hill Farm was discovered shortly after 6pm on Sunday (16 December).

Video posted on social media shows the flames lighting up the night sky.

@itvtynetees whinny hill farm on fire Choppington pic.twitter.com/V6SMAuoA2H

— Brian Bell (@brianbell3421) December 16, 2018

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help farming family the Burkinshaws rebuild the farm.

Local resident Faye Scantlebury, who set up the funding page, said: “They are a local family that will go out of their way to help others, but now it’s our turn to help them.”

Firefighters battled the flames through the night before scaling back the number of appliances in attendance on Monday morning.

At the fire’s peak, five fire engines and 22 fire crew members attended the incident.

Assessments are being made to ascertain whether to leave the site and make re-inspections or to maintain a constant presence.

No animals were harmed in the fire.