Six horses were led to safety as firefighters tackled a big blaze at a farm in Little Totham last night.

On arrival at the 40 x 20m barn on School Road just before 8pm crews confirmed it was around 50 per cent alight. The barn contained roughly 50 tonnes of baled straw as well as agricultural machinery.

Six horses, which were in the stable at the time, were led to safety and unharmed.

Given the remote location of the fire, which is believed to have started accidentally, the officer-in-charge requested the support of a water bowser. The water bowser carries a large amount of water, helping to support firefighters with a good supply for a longer period of time.

Inside the barn as crews tackle the flames.

The fire was surrounded by 8.45pm. Crews managed to prevent it spreading to a nearby stable building.

Firefighters were continuing to tackle the fire at 9.30pm. The fire was still surrounded, but due to the amount of straw and materials inside the premises, crews expected this to be a protracted incident and to be at the scene for some time.

At 10.30pm, firefighters reported that the fire was under control. The incident was scaled down to two crews.

Crews managed a controlled burn of the material inside the barn throughout the early hours of Friday morning.

One crew remained at the scene at 7am on Friday. The fire was out, but crews were continuing to eliminate hotspots and make sure the area was safe before leaving the scene.