A Wiltshire farmer has shared a heartfelt thank you to firefighters for saving her livestock from a fire that destroyed 100 acres of spring barley on Monday.
Suzie Swanton said that without the fire crews coming to the family's aid, she would have been left "a forever changed person".
The fire broke out in a field of spring barley in West Overton at just after 6.30pm on Monday night.
It threatened a building housing cattle, and Suzie explained that she found it extremely difficult to move them.
She said: "I struggled to get the cattle to leave the barn due to the heat, noise, smoke. Had I not been able to get them out, had these (fire) men and women not stopped that blaze there, I would have been a forever changed person. Things can be replaced, but lives cannot."
Fire crews from Marlborough, Calne, Ramsbury, Swindon, Stratton, Devizes, Royal Wootton Bassett, Chippenham, Melksham and Pewsey were mobilised, alongside a small 4x4 pumping appliance from Ludgershall, water carriers from Pewsey and Royal Wootton Bassett and an Incident Command Unit from Devizes.
Approximately 100 acres of spring barley caught fire and Suzie worked to create a fire break using a tractor as the firefighters tackled the flames.
Huge plumes of smoke could be seen from as far as Swindon and Marlborough.
The fire was started by sparks caused by metal on a farm machine striking flint in the field.
After four hours the fire was successfully put out.
Suzie posted to Facebook the following night, explaining what had happened and thanking the firefighters.
She said: "It is a very humbling experience to fight alongside 10 fire crews and their support and a huge number of amazing neighbours who came rushing to our aid with cultivators, sprayers, whatever they could bring.
"I have added some photos of bringing the cattle back in- with the burn in the background and showing where the fire service managed to stop the tear away burn- just yards from the barn. They are completely unharmed.
"These fire service men and women are the most incredible people. We all respect them, but until you really need them you cannot understand their true value. I have never had to call them before but boy did we need them and boy did they deliver."
No people or livestock were injured but the field of spring barley was destroyed.
At present there is a significant number of farm fires - machinery, barns, fields of crops - breaking out as a consequence of the deadly combination of heatwave, drought and harvest.
There are ten ways to reduce combine harvester fires explained here.
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