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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Liam Buckler

Hero farmer ploughs through crops to stop deadly wildfires heading towards homes

This is the heroic moment a farmer ploughs through crops in order to help stop deadly wildfires spreading across a field.

Emergency services were called to a farm in Lenham Heath, located between Maidstone and Ashford, in Kent, on Saturday, to help put out the large fire which was rapidly heading towards nearby homes.

The incident, which happened around 3.15pm, saw the inferno spread across almost 20 acres of land.

The fiery blaze was so enormous lorry drivers on the M20 could see it miles away.

Windy weather propelled the spread of the fire towards houses nearby.

But heroic farmer Bill Alexander showed some quick-thinking and drove his tractor towards the crops - to help slow down the fire.

Hero farmer Bill Alexander ploughed through the crops with his tractor to help slow down the fire (BBC)

Farmer Bill can been seen fearlessly driving his green tractor towards the huge inferno, around the burning crops to help curtail the fire.

His remarkable actions were caught on video and Andy Barr, owner of the Kent farm.

Mr Barr praised Bill for his "heroic" actions as he posted the image of the farmer heroically cutting the crops.

Firefighters were called to the scene to tackle a huge crop blaze that broke out in a field in Lenham Heath (BBC)

Andy wrote: "Please tell everyone to be careful what they do along roads and paths, 20 acres of spring barley up in flames.

"This pic from my son was when the wind turned towards my brother's house, luckily Bill Alexander and Jonny & Ellie from TCAgri saved the day."

Brave firefighters were able to put the inferno out after 90 minutes as local residents were told to leave the area for their safety.

The circumstances behind the fire are unknown at this time.

Lorry drivers on the M20 could see the devastating fire (BBC)

A fire service spokesman said: "We were sent to reports of a standing crop fire in fields on Lenham Heath.

"Crews worked hard to get the fire under control which covered approximately eight hectares, the equivalent of almost 20 acres.

"The fire has been brought under control and put out. Firefighters escorted persons who were in the vicinity to safety. There are no reports of any injuries."

The inferno was just one of many wildfires which broke out across the UK last week as temperatures hit a record 40.3C due to the heatwave.

The fire was brought under control as firefighters escorted residents in the vicinity to safety (Getty Images)

Fire services were called across the country to help battle homes and buildings on fire as residents were evacuated from their homes for their safety.

There were over 1,600 calls to firefighters across England, Scotland and Wales as the sweltering conditions caused wildfires to spread.

Fire services in Hertfordshire, Bucks, South Yorkshire, London, Suffolk and Leicestershire were all forced to declare major incidents as they were inundated with thousands of calls.

The astonishing temperatures reached record highs of 40.3C at Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Tuesday, which beat the previous record set in Cambridge in 2019 of 38.7C.

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