A TWELVE-year-old boy has been charged with arson following a blaze at a farm in North Yorkshire which destroyed up to 400 bales of straw.

Fire crews spent the weekend damping down after the blaze at Sandholmes Lane, Sowerby, near Thirsk on Saturday night.

Crews were able to prevent the flames spreading to nearby buildings, containing more than 400 pigs, and a neighbouring caravan park. At the height of the fire overhead power lines had to be switched off because the flames were so close to the cables.

It is the second major farm blaze tackled by North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue crews in a fortnight.

On Sunday March 1, more than 230 cows had to be rescued from a barn in Aiskew, near Bedale. The fire caused up to £250,000 worth of damage to buildings and sent thick black smoke across the main A168 road and towards the A1.

Five teenagers, two 13-year-old girls, a 14-year-old girl, and two boys aged 14 and 15 were arrested at the time on suspicion of causing arson and police say investigations are continuing.

The alarm was raised at Sowerby at 5pm and fire crews from Northallerton and Thirsk were sent to the scene. A water bowser from Boroughbridge and major incident support unit from Malton were also sent.

A fire break was created as fire crews hosed down and the farmer shifted the half ton bales out of the way to stop the flames spreading.

The leader of Hambleton District Council, Cllr Mark Robson, who lives around 500 metres away, said it had been incredibly lucky that no one was injured and livestock were protected.

“The fire crews and the farmer did an amazing job," he said. "If the wind had been stronger and in a different direction it could so easily have spread to the pig sheds and to other buildings.

“You could see the flames from a long way. It’s truly fortunate that no one has been hurt, but it could have been a very different story. The caravans were probably only 30 to 40 metres away, there are camper vans on there as well with gas cylinders and if they had gone up it could have been horrendous.

“It is extremely concerning, particularly as this is the second farm fire in this area in two weeks.”

North Yorkshire Police said the 12-year-old boy had been released on bail in connection with the Sowerby incident and was due to make an appearance at Northallerton youth court in due course.