ABOUT 200 tons of hay caught fire at a Rossendale farm yesterday.

Crews from Rawtenstall Fire Station spent six hours putting out the fire at The Croft in Newchurch.

The cause it not yet known but firefighters do not think it was arson.

Watch manager Andy Coulton, from Rawtenstall Fire Station, said: “We are not treating this situation as suspicious because to be honest, these things are not uncommon at this time of year.

“When hay is tightly wrapped in a bale, it does not take much for it to ignite and when that happens, it burns really quickly.

“Due to the speed at which it burns and how dry the hay bales are, it is often hard for firefighters to extinguish the flames quickly.

“We sent three engines at around 4.30am before reducing it to one engine later in the morning.

“It’s safe to say the hay bales are unsalvageable due to the severity of the fire.”

The farm, which is located just off Newchurch Road, was hosed with three water jets until just after 11am yesterday before firefighters left the scene.

The Rawtenstall team revisited the site in the afternoon to examine the damage before confirming the flames had been completely put out.