Man held as firecrews tackle blazing barn (From Gazette & Herald)

Man held as firecrews tackle blazing barn

BURNING hay sent clouds of smoke billowing across the A64 as firefighters tackled a blaze near Malton.

Rush hour traffic slowed to a crawl as it passed the barn at the top of Golden Hill yesterday afternoon.

Before the fire was even out, police had arrested a man in his mid-20s, and were questioning him about the incident.

Two fire engines from Malton were called to the scene just after 4.50pm. Firefighters knocked bales over to prevent any structural damage to the barn itself, and used water jets and pitchforks to extinguish the blaze.

But as water levels ran low, they were forced to call for backup from York and Pickering.

Watch manager Dave Watson said: "We got there quite soon after ignition, and the fire was just starting.

"We called in appliances from Pickering and Huntington because there was no water supply up there."

He added it was too early to establish the cause of the blaze.

The barn, which lies just metres away from the busy A64, is owned by Sawkill Farm, part of the Huttons Ambo Estate.

It housed 128 bales of hay, most of which were destroyed by either smoke or fire.

Farm manger Richard Wainwright was today counting the cost. He said the blaze would cause a major headache.

"Try feeding 1,000 ewes with burnt hay," he said. "This will cause a lot of disruption, leaving us with nothing to feed them."

Farm worker Richard Clifford was one of the first on site to spot the blaze. "I just came out to get some fresh air and I saw the fire engine lights and the smoke," he said.

At the scene, PC Gareth Gilleard, of Malton Police, said: "We are keeping the site secure until the fire is out. It will then just be a case of speaking with the gentleman who is in custody."

Updated: 11:14 Wednesday, March 22, 2006