AN investigation will continue today into a massive blaze forced a family to flee their home and stretched firefighters to the limit.

Sixty firefighters from across North Yorkshire were called in during the early hours of yesterday morning to tackle the fire, which destroyed Dutch barns, farming vehicles and equipment.

Ruth and Philip Pool, and children, Tom, three, and Luka, 12, woke at about 4am to discover the barns ablaze only metres from their home, Wyse House, in Old Malton.

Fire crews pumped water from the nearby River Derwent to damp down a diesel tank containing 5,000 gallons of fuel - preventing the fire from spiralling out of control.

They also doused the farmhouse and a nearby workshop in an effort to protect both from the flames. Both properties suffered smoke damage.

Mrs Pool, 34, said: "It was well alight by the time we got down to the kitchen from the bedroom to ring the fire brigade.

"The windows in the house were cracking and vehicles were locked up, so they could not be moved."

The fire destroyed about 400 tonnes of hay, 1,000 tonnes of straw and a range of farming equipment. Three of the farm's five balers were destroyed and a forklift truck, two tractors, a trailer, a lorry, the farm's own weighbridge and office were lost, along with the two Dutch barns.

Divisional Officer Steve Cluderay, of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The main issue we had was to protect the surrounding buildings. With such a large fire, it is almost impossible to know where it started."

Fire chiefs said the investigation into the blaze could take days to complete, but initial thoughts that it may have been an arson attack are thought to have been discounted.

Mr Pool, who moved to Wyse House in 1994, said it was difficult to see how they could find more equipment to carry on at this time of year.

But he insisted that the family would get the business back on its feet, whatever it took.