Fed up residents express anger as fire breaks out at farm they say has blighted their lives

Police and firefighters were called to West Musgrave Farm in Louisa Terrace, St Helen Auckland, County Durham, shortly before 6pm yesterday (Tuesday, March 17) following reports of a rubbish fire.

Thick black smoke could be seen for miles around and witnesses described flames shooting out of an old tyre shed at the farm, which has been at the centre of long-running ownership feud involving a local family.

To Louisa Terrace residents, however, the farm is nothing more than a blot on the landscape and the fire is the latest in a series of problems surrounding the site, with rubbish, unpleasant odours and rats among the issues cited.

When the farmhouse was demolished in September 2013, the residents looked forward to happier times but 18-months on the site remains a thorn in the community’s side.

This evening, as they watched firefighters put out the blaze, the neighbours spoke of their frustration.

“I’d just come out to put the recycling bin out when I saw the smoke and flames,” said one resident.

“It was about 5.50pm but it was well alight by then. It is about time something was done about this.

“This isn’t the first fire we’ve had here and enough is enough. It is making our lives a misery.”

Another resident said her little boy could not play in the garden because of the rats and said attempts to sell her property had been fruitless.

West Musgrave Farm has been the subject of a lengthy ownership wrangle between brothers, Paul and Anthony Shepherd, formerly of Albert Hill Skip Hire in Darlington, and their siblings Christopher Shepherd and Joanna Long.

A civil court judge ruled in favour of the latter, leaving the pair free to sell the farm to Tindale Developments for new housing.

Last October, however, the deal fell through.

“When the farmhouse was demolished we thought they would clean up the site but it's still full of rubbish,” said another resident.

“Nothing has happened. It's beyond a joke.”