A FARMER from Croxley Green has lost almost his entire stock of hay after one of his barns burned down on Tuesday night, less than a week after the hay was put there.

Mr Peter Foster, of Killingdown Farm off Little Green Lane, first noticed the fire in the far corner of his Dutch barn at about 8.15pm, and before long it had spread to the rest of the barn.

It was tackled by two fire engines from Watford, one from Garston and another from Rickmansworth.

But the 27 firefighters were unable to stop the blaze as the 100 tonnes of baled hay and straw acted as rich fuel to the fire.

The firefighters worked until 11.30pm, when they were relieved by six more colleagues with breathing apparatus, who continued to work with a curtain spray and four jets to bring the fire under control.

By 6am the fire gradually began to burn out, but by 10am yesterday (Thursday) morning, what was left of the hay was still smoking.

Mr Foster said: 'I cannot believe we just finished filling it up and now it is all gone. That is what I cannot come to terms with.

'It is a big shock. We had just finished filling it up with hay last week.

There were about 13,000 or 14,000 bales of hay and 1,000 bales of straw.

'We have nothing left for the horses. We cannot even buy any more because there is nowhere left to put it.'

He added: 'Most of it will be covered by insurance but not all of it. You do not think the whole lot is going to go.

'The only consolation is that we managed to get the tractors to safety.'

Police attended the scene at 8.41pm and closed off a section of Little Green Lane at the junction of Baldwins Lane.

Officers talked to a member of the public who said he had seen two youths in the fields behind the farm, but despite an area search and house-to-house enquiries, no evidence of arson was found.

Because of the lack of evidence so far, police are not able to say whether it was an arson attack, though the Fire and Rescue Service is treating the fire as of 'doubtful origin.'

A police spokesman said: 'Police officers will be liaising with the Fire and Rescue Service and with the farm owner to try to establish evidence that it was arson. At this stage we don't know.'

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue said: 'This is one of a number of fires on farm land which have occurred this year, regrettably at great expense to those farmers involved.

'Often these fires are suspicious in nature and we would urge anyone with information on this or any other suspicious fire to contact the local police or telephone Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.'

revans@london.newsquest.co.uk