Firefighters battle Newbury combine harvester/crop fire

Watch manager of Red Watch, Bob Mitchell, at Newbury Fire Station, said one pump from Newbury, along with two others from Hungerford and Kingsclere, a total 15 firefighters, were called at 7.10pm to a field off Enborne Road, where a combine harvester and field were well alight.
Two acres of barley and the combine harvester were destroyed in the fire.
No-one was hurt.
Firefighters used hosereels and beaters to extinguish the blaze before leaving the scene at 9pm.
Firefighters returned at midnight and again at 7.30am today (Wed) to check the machine: “It’s very difficult to put a combine harvester fire out, there are pockets of fire deep inside,” said Mr Mitchell.
The cause was put down to a mechanical defect.
Photograph Ian Wallace