TEN tonnes of straw were destroyed in a barn fire near Stow.

Firefighters spent six hours tackling the blaze which happened at Upper Oddington in the early hours of this morning.

Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue service were called at 12.50am by the distressed barn owner.

Initially two fire engines from Stow were called but once on scene the crews quickly established further resources would be required and fire engines from Moreton and Chipping Norton were called.

They found the blaze was contained in a barn that contained ten tonnes of straw. The crews worked with the farmer and extinguished the fire by dragging out the straw and using four jets.

A Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue service spokesman confirmed the fire was being investigated.

“In instances like these the fire is usually treated as suspicious, and this one is no different,” he said.