Woodseaves biomass fire 'of doubtful origin'

About 60 firefighters tackled a major blaze of "doubtful origin" when 2,200 tonnes of biofuel went up in flames on farmland in north Shropshire.

Crews were called to Sutton Lane at Woodseaves, near Market Drayton, yesterday lunchtime and they remained at the scene through the night.

At its height the blaze, involving a type of straw called elephant grass, sent flames shooting more than 20ft into the air.

The elephant grass was being stored in a field at the farm and the damaged crop is valued at several thousand pounds.

Maria Wilkinson, West Mercia Police spokeswoman, said: "At this stage the cause of the fire is unknown and is being treated as being of doubtful origin, although there is currently no evidence to prove whether it is arson."

Steve Purslow, incident commander for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the blaze had "pretty much" burned itself out by this morning.

He said one crew was likely to remain at the scene today checking for hotspots and breaking up the pile. He added: "We've got approximately 2,200 tonnes of miscanthus grass, which is a type of straw used as a clean biofuel.

"It was being stored on farmland and it covers an area of about 150 metres by 50 metres.

"There were about 4,400 bales so this was a very large incident.

"It has caused a substantial amount of damage to the farmer's property.

"We had one person living nearby who needed first aid but was found to be OK."