FIREFIGHTERS battled a blaze involving approximately 15 tonnes of straw after sparks from a bonfire ‘jumped’ nearly 100 metres in to the stack.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) received a call at around 4pm today reporting that a bonfire held at a farm on Lane End, Milborne St Andrew had spread to nearby straw bales.

Two crews from Bere Regis and Blandford attended the fire and reported around 15 tonnes of straw well alight.

A further crew was then requested from Blanford to help tackle the fire.

A spokesman for DFRS said there was a barn containing a ‘large quantity’ of fertiliser about 30 metres away from the blaze, and firefighters were using heat monitors to monitor the situation in the barn.

Owner of the farm, Michael Miller, said they had been lighting a bonfire on the field nearby when one of the sparks jumped and set the straw alight.

He said: “Thankfully there isn’t much harm done. Our major worry was that the barn would catch fire.

“It was quite frightening really - how far a spark can travel. It doesn’t take much. This just goes to shows how dangerous sparks can be.

“It’s a good job we’re not short of straw. The spark just caught the top bale and it burnt from the top down.

“It’s surprising how much water the firefighters have used.

"If it had been on the other side of the track here we would have been in real trouble.”

Firefighters used hose reel jets and the farmer’s tractor to extinguish the fire.

Andrew Laskey, temporary watch manager at DFRS said: “They had set fire to a bonfire in the field and one of the sparks had travelled and set the straw alight. With the wind and weather today it just intensified. The spark travelled nearly 100 metres. The conditions are just right for it to travel.

“With the countryside we are always very keen to make people aware of the hazards.

“Because of the barn being nearby we needed to extinguish it quickly.

"It has taken us quite a few hours.

"We’ve had three fire engines here shuttling water and about 15 or 16 firefighters.”