A FIRE has destroyed 300 tonnes of hay at a County Durham farm.
Dramatic pictures released by the fire service show crews tackling the barn fire at Satley, near Lanchester last night.
The blaze ripped through a barn containing baled hay, with flames, fanned by high winds, leaping into the night sky.
Four fire crews and an aerial ladder platform were deployed to tackle the fire during torrential rain following a report at 8.30pm.
Firefighters with two appliances, from Consett and Peterlee, remain at the scene and continue to battle 110 tonnes of hay which is still alight
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: "We are working with the famer to break it (the hay) up and extinguish the fire."
Writing on Facebook and Twitter last night, a service spokesperson said: “Dramatic images from Satley Farm this evening as crews from Consett and Durham battle to contain a serious barn fire in difficult weather conditions”.
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