Arsonists put North farmers on alert
Sep 3 2010 by Alastair Craig, The Journal
FEARS were last night spreading across the farming community in Northumberland after a third devastating arson attack on agricultural buildings and supplies.
Police are now investigating a trio of blazes involving thousands of hay bales over the space of 48 hours.
The latest fire on Wednesday night saw a stack of 1,000 bales set alight at a farm in Belford.
Crews from Belford, Alnwick, Seahouses, Berwick and Wooler were scrambled to Mousen Farm, which is just off the A1, at just after 9pm.
Police closed the A1 in both directions for three hours as smoke billowed over the carriageways.
On Tuesday, fire crews from across the county attended separate blazes at Causey Park, near Morpeth, and Chevington Moor, just one mile away, at around 9pm.
The incidents, which were reported 25 minutes apart, both involved barn fires where more than 2,000 hay bales were being stored for use as animal feed.
Northumbria Police are treating all three fires as suspicious and have launched a search for those responsible for the attacks. No one was hurt during the incidents and livestock was evacuated to a safe distance.
Glen Sanderson, a county councillor and farmer from Eshott, close to the Chevington and Causey Park fires, said last night that rural workers were “on their guard” and feared being “the next target for a malicious attack”.
He said: “I have spoken to many farmers and they are feeling vulnerable at the moment.
“We are not used to this kind of crime in rural areas and it disgusts us all that someone seems to be getting a cheap thrill from this.
