Fire Fighters from across the district battled to contain two major haystack fires, on the main a 2070 road between Brenzett Green and Snave, last night (Thursday 29th)
The alarm was raised shortly before 8pm when the first fire was reported and then a second blaze less than a mile away and believed to belong to the same farmer was also alerted to Kent Fire and Rescue.
With appliances from Lydd, Dymchurch, Aldington and Ashford and water tenders over 30 fire fighters looked set to have a long night ahead of them.
When The Looker arrived on scene both fires had really become fully established, with a fireman telling us that there was nothing really they could now do other than to let them burn themselves out, and make sure that the fires did not spread to adjoining fields.
One local resident told The Looker; “Obviously this is not official,l but I think it must be an arson attack, it would be more than a coincidence that two haystacks belonging to one farmer should self combust at exactly the same time.”
The resident said that they alerted the fire service around 8pm when they noticed the fire glow on their CCTV monitors. The resident stated: “The fire is bad enough, but with all the dry weather we have had a spark could ignite the hay and corn fields. I feel so sorry for the farmer who stands to lose his entire winter hay supply.”
At the time of going to press we do not have any official statement about the cause of the fire, but the Snave site is an area that has been used to fly tip rubbish over the past few weeks, which has fuelled belief on social media that the attacks are deliberate.
There has also been reported hare coursing with land owners having run-ins with some of the people using the land for these illegal and barbaric activities.
If you have any dash-cam footage taken from the A2070 between the time of 6.30 an 8.00pm showing any people near the fire sites, please contact Kent Police on 01622690690.
