Cattle moved to safety as Devon barn went up in flames

Cattle were moved to safety as firefighters tackled a large barn fire near Tiverton on Sunday 11 June.

Firefighters from seven stations across Devon and Somerset were called to the scene in the Halberton and Willand area of the county at 4:38am after a number of hay bales had caught on fire.

Smoke had billowed across the nearby M5 in both directions, but has since cleared.

A spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: "Fire Control received multiple calls for a barn on fire in the Willand area.

"Crews from Cullompton, Middlemoor, Wellington, Officers and a water carrier from Bridgwater were mobilised just before 5am on Sunday 11 June.

"Once in attendance, crews confirmed a barn with large quantities of hay bales was well alight, and they worked with the farmer in moving live cattle from the rear of the barn."

The fire was contained to allow it to burn down the hay within the confines of the barn.

At 8:13am, after around three and a half hours, crews had made enough progress to start scaling the effort back.

At 10am, they were relieved by three fire engines attending from Danes Castle, Tiverton and Witheridge.

This was a barn containing 1000 small bales of hay, 300 large bales of hay and 50 large bales of straw, wood chippings and animal pellet feed.

Crews believe the fire was started accidentally and have monitored the barn throughout the night.