Heartbroken farmer thanks community after devastating barn fire in Rugby
A heartbroken Lawford Heath farmer has personally thanked the community after a massive barn fire destroyed his property yesterday (August 17).
Jonathan Jeyes, owner of Manor Farm, said he has barely slept since the blaze ripped through his business at around 4pm on Monday afternoon.
Hundreds of cows had to be moved to safety and none of them were injured.
Workers at the farm said a huge amount of straw perished in the flames, along with animal feed for the winter months.
Five fire crews tackled the flames and worked through the night to get the incident under control.
They will remain at the Coalpit Lane beef and dairy farm for a few days to ensure there’s no more risk.
Jonathan told the Rugby Advertiser: “It’s a huge shock.
"We got everything out of the way as quickly as we could and I’d like to say thank you to the local farming community who were there to help straight away.
"I’d also like to thank the fire service who have been so kind and supportive.”
Concerned residents could see a huge plume of smoke from as far as Coventry and Leamington Spa.
"We’ve lost a lot of animal feed we’ll need for the winter,” Jonathan added.
Jo Carter, fire station manager for Nuneaton & Bedworth, was at the scene today (August 18).
She said: “We were called to a barn fire at 16.45pm on Monday (August 17).
“Two hundred cows were evacuated while our crews tackled the fire and 500 tonnes of straw was destroyed.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown.