A COUPLE who have been farming all their lives have spoken of their total devastation at loosing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of equipment and hay in a 800-degree inferno at their Chipping Sodbury farm.

Colin and Mary Watson watched in horror as flames engulfed a storage barn just metres from their home, at Kingrove Farm on Kingrove Lane. Despite Avon Fire and Rescue Service reaching the scene within 10 minutes, a nearby water hydrant was nearly empty so the flames could not be put out for several hours.

Mr Watson, who has worked on the family farm for more than 50 years, told the Gazette: "We just had to watch it burn. "It has taken us some time to get over. I still can’t sleep properly, it is just the shock of it."

Mr Watson, 73, added: "We have lost 600 bails of hay, or 120 tonnes, as well as a bailer and a wrapper. Fortunately the cattle were not inside as it has been so warm.

"Hopefully my insurance will cover it and no one was hurt but we are certainly on edge now."

The couple said they had no idea what had caused the blaze but it could have been stray fireworks or a Chinese lantern which blew into the barn.

Mr Watson made his usual nightly check of the farm at 11.30pm last Tuesday, November 8.

"There was no sign of anybody and I turned the lights off and went to bed," he said. "I woke up at 3am to go to the bathroom and looked out of the window as I always do and there was nothing.

"Then at 4.45am we woke up to the sound of popping and banging, which was all the asbestos burning. It took hold really quickly and although we managed to get two tractors out of the barn, we lost a lot."

The blaze reached such an intensity the steel frame of the barn melted. Hay bails stacked seven high were burned to the ground and piles of ash were still smouldering nearly a week after the fire broke out.

Mrs Watson, 71, who runs a bed and breakfast at the farmhouse and rents out cottages to holidaymakers, said: "It was just a good job the wind was blowing away from the house.

"It has taken us a good few days to get over the shock."

Smoke from the blaze covered the whole of Chipping Sodbury on Wednesday and residents of Greenhayes were without water for much of the day.

A spokesman for Avon Fire and Rescue Service said: "Firefighters from Yate, Kingswood and Speedwell were in the first attendance at the incident.

"The decision was taken to allow a controlled burn of the affected hay with crews standing by throughout the day. In total 12 fire appliances attended throughout the day from a number of stations.

"The cause of the fire is unknown."