A WEST Dorset farmer has praised the volunteer firefighters who tackled a blaze which burnt his barn to the ground.

Andrew Peters could only look on as two crews fought the flames at Elwell farm and boarding kennels at Waytown, between Bridport and Beaminster.

Machinery and an old tractor were destroyed in the fire as well as hay and a small amount of firewood.

Mr Peters said: “The firefighters got here very quickly.

“They were very good and stayed here for some time damping down.

“They saved as much firewood as they could. They were excellent.”

The fire was sparked by an electrical fault in a tally handler machine.

Two crews from Bridport and Charmouth were called to the blaze on Sunday afternoon, August 25.

Mr Peters and his family had gone to Symondsbury fete when a neighbour raised the alarm.

Mr Peters said: “I got a phone call from my neighbour to say we had better come back as the barn was on fire.

“I was relieved when we got back that it wasn’t the much bigger barn we have which was stuffed full of hay.”

He added: “It could have been a lot worse.”

Mr Peters’ son Arthur, four, donned his fireman’s costume when the crews turned up.

Mr Peters said: “He has got various costumes and it was his own idea to put it on. The firemen were brilliant with him.”

He added: “It is the first time we have had a fire like this. No animals were hurt or anything in the fire. There was nothing which cannot be replaced or repaired.”

Crews from Bridport and Charmouth were called out to the emergency at 2.16pm on Sunday.

The fire service said that the barn was well alight when crews arrived.

They put out the flames and stayed on site to dampen down the debris to ensure the fire was out.

They included relief crews from Beaminster turning over the hay bales with a mini digger.