FIREFIGHTERS battled a fire which was sparked by power tools setting hay alight.
Crews were called to Laverstock Farm, near Laverstock in West Dorset yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.
A quantity of straw and a trailer were destroyed in the fire.
Fire crews from Charmouth, Beaminster and Bridport were called at around 12.40pm with five appliances attending in total.
Steve Underhill, district commander for central Dorset at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “It was a large open style barn containing 20 tons of straw and a trailer and farm machinery.
“We salvaged the machinery but the straw and trailer were destroyed by the fire.
“The cause was workmen working with power tools creating sparks which ignited the dry straw, luckily the quantity of straw was relatively small compared to the size of the barn.”
Mr Underhill urged anyone to be aware when working with machinery or power tools in the vicinity of combustibles such as straw and hay.
He urged people to cover hay before starting work and to have firefighting equipment on hand just in case.
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