Furious farmer blasts arsonists after a second huge farm fire in three days near Harborough

He said the fire could carry on burning for two to three weeks yet
The fire ripped through hundreds of bales of straw in a field on Home Farm on Valley Road, Weston by Welland.The fire ripped through hundreds of bales of straw in a field on Home Farm on Valley Road, Weston by Welland.
The fire ripped through hundreds of bales of straw in a field on Home Farm on Valley Road, Weston by Welland.

A furious farmer has slammed arsonists after a catastrophic fire destroyed over 500 tonnes of straw on his farm near Market Harborough today (Wednesday September 16).

Chris Parker, 61, hit out after the blaze ripped through hundreds of bales of straw in a field on Home Farm on Valley Road, Weston by Welland.

The fire erupted in pitch-black darkness just after midnight today and it was battled by about 15 firefighters from three local fire stations throughout the night.

The fire ripped through hundreds of bales of straw in a field on Home Farm on Valley Road, Weston by Welland.The fire ripped through hundreds of bales of straw in a field on Home Farm on Valley Road, Weston by Welland.
The fire ripped through hundreds of bales of straw in a field on Home Farm on Valley Road, Weston by Welland.

The fire comes just three days after arsonists gutted over 1,000 bales of straw at Patricia Walker’s Langton Hall Farm at West Langton – just four miles away.

Today farmer Chris told the Harborough Mail: “It’s a devastating fire and it’s shocking.

“It can only have been started deliberately.

“I have no doubt about that.

“I am in shock, we are still obviously very much dealing with it here.”

The well-known local farmer said the massive sudden blow tops a disastrous year on the farming front.

“It’s a huge, huge fire.

“We have lost 500-plus tonnes of straw.

“It could carry on burning for two to three weeks yet,” said shell-shocked Chris.

“And this comes after a very poor farm year for us.

“Last autumn and winter were very wet and then we had a drought earlier this year.

“We have gone from one extreme to the other.

“So it’s been an appalling year and we’ve had a poor harvest.

“As a result straw is very scarce.

“We have worked hard all hours, as all farmers do, to stack away over 500 tonnes of precious straw.

“And now we get it destroyed just like that.

“So as well as having to cope with politicians and wretched weather we have arsonists to deal with too.

“It’s been a nightmare.”

The stunned farmer said the enormous load of straw he’s lost was of “huge financial value”.

“I am insured. But that’s not going to replace this straw that’s just gone up in smoke through the night.

“I’ll have to scramble around now and it’s going to be a real challenge to buy in the straw we need because there isn’t much around,” stressed Chris.

“We keep about 600 head of cattle and they will need straw for their bedding this winter so we’ll have to try to find it somewhere.”

He fears that the arsonists who targeted Patricia Walker, 66, at nearby Langton Hall Farm on Sunday night (September 13) may also have torched his straw.

“That could well be the case – we certainly can’t rule it out.

“I know Pat, of course, and I feel so bad for her too,” said Chris.

“The trouble is that many of our barns and fields are in remote spots, they’re not covered by cameras and it’s easy for people to go along in the dark.

“As Pat said, I just hope the people who did this are caught by the police as soon as possible before they strike again on someone else’s farm.”

Firefighters from Desborough, Corby and Kettering rushed to tackle the blaze at about 12.25am today.

The three crews battled fierce flames all night and one crew was still at the scene this morning damping down smouldering straw.

Specialist Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service investigators are set to carry out a full probe into the incident.

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