A FARMER has spoken of his relief that no chickens were killed in a major fire in his poultry shed.

Firefighters from Bacup, Rawtenstall and Burnley spent seven hours battling the fire at Hayhead Farm on Tong Lane, Bacup.

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The cause of the blaze is still under investigation and owner Paul Harrison, 42, said he was just glad there were no chickens inside at the time.

Mr Harrison, 42, said he had been at the farm for 10 years and never had a fire on such a huge scale before.

He said the shed was empty at the time of the blaze, which happened just before midnight on Tuesday, because they were waiting to re-stock. He said if there had been chickens in the shed the story could have had a very sad conclusion.

Nobody was injured in the fire, but the single storey shed, which measures 18 metres by 20 metres, was left in a serious state of disrepair.

Mr Harrison is now facing a huge repair bill, after revealing the shed roof had caved in and the interior structure was all burned out.

Because of the isolated location of the farm the nearest hydrant was around a mile away so crews had to ‘shuttle run’ water to fire engines to ensure a constant supply.

John Taylor, spokesman for the fire service, said: “Four fire crews went to a large fire in Bacup. They needed four because of the remoteness of it and they set up a water relay.

“There’s no obvious indication of how the fire started but it will be investigated.”