Plea from fire service after 48 blazes in a day

A fire service has asked farmers and residents to help them prevent fires after it was called to 48 incidents in one day.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said its resources had been "stretched" after a number of blazes started because of "very dry conditions due to the warm weather".

It said on Tuesday four crews dealt with a large farmland fire in Sulby - and it also put out a manure fire inside a barn in Chelveston.

In Yelvertoft, it said an accidental field fire spread to a combine harvester and hedgerows, and in Church Stowe a hay baler overheated and caught fire.

Neil Sadler, group manager, said: "We had several fires that could have been prevented, and that potentially diverts resources away from critical incidents.

"So we would ask residents to remain alert and follow the safety advice that we are putting out on our social media feeds.

"Please ensure that any cigarettes or barbecues are safely disposed of, and ensure you stay safe in and around the water.

"We would also ask the farming community to take extra care, as overheated machinery can cause field fires that require many fire crews to attend and prevent the flames from spreading further."

The service said at about 12:40 BST on Tuesday it was called to Sulby Hall Old Drive in Sulby, to the blaze that had damaged a combine harvester and spread to 15 acres of land.

Then, at 14:00, it worked alongside a farmer to put out the agricultural building fire in Raunds Road, Chelveston.

It added that the fire in Church Stowe, at about 17:00, spread to two fields across 10 acres of land.

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