A DUTCH barn containing a large quantity of straw and farm equipment has been destroyed by fire.

The blaze, at Murton Grange Farm, in Hawnby, North Yorkshire, broke out at 6pm on Thursday.

Fire crews from Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Thirsk and Easingwold and a water bowser from Boroughbridge were called to the scene.

The building, a ten-bay Dutch barn made from wood and metal with a corrugated sheet roof, contained 50 tonnes of hay, 50 tonnes of large-baled straw, 1,700 small straw bales, a crop sprayer, a four-wheeled trailer, a plough, 20 metal gates, 400 fence posts and 4,000 metres of water pipe.

The farmer had tried to put out the fire using three powder extinguishers, but it was well alight by the time fire crews arrived.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said the barn and its contents were completely destroyed.

Crews remained at the farm through the night to stop the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.

One crew was still at the scene yesterday morning helping the farmer to spread out the remaining hay and straw to prevent it from re-igniting.