Seven acres of farmland engulfed in fire

A COMBINE harvester caused a fire to sweep across seven acres of farmland yesterday.

The blaze in a field on Brand Lane, Sprotbrough, broke out at around 3.25pm.

Four fire crews from Adwick, Sheffield, Doncaster and Maltby, were called to the scene.

“They used a hose reel and fire beaters to put it out,” said a South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue spokeswoman.

Around seven acres of freshly cut and standing corn were engulfed in flames.

“It’s believed to have been caused by a combine harvester, due to an accumulation of corn and hot dust from the engine,” she added.

Firefighters brought the accidental fire under control in an hour.

The fire service tweeted: “Big thanks to all of our firefighters who have been working hard tackling incidents such as this, and many more besides, in such hot conditions recently.”