A FIERCE Fire destroyed a barn and its contents at a farm in Skenfrith last week,

Six fire tenders from Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire battled the blaze at Norton Court Farm, but although nobody was hurt, 150 tonnes of straw, 25 tonnes of beans and 16 tonnes of fertiliser were lost.

The fire started on Thursday 14th January at about 3pm, and quickly became an inferno, as farmer Ben Williams battled to save what he could.

"I managed to get my combine harvester out, a forklift, two tractors and a trailer that had been parked in the barn, but the combine header was already on fire, and I decided to leave it there" he told the Beacon.

"We also lost our daughter's little motorised buggy, but I decided enough had been done without risking life and limb further", he continued.

Fire crews from Monmouth were quickly on the scene and took control of a potentially deadly situation. A large metal tank of diesel was stood at the corner of the barn, and caused the firemen some concern.