FIREFIGHTERS were called to deal with a grass blaze in Darlington on Wednesday night.

A 1,000 square meter expanse of grass near Wentworth Way on the Branksome estate was well alight when firefighters arrived at the scene at 9.19pm.

It took the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service around half an hour to extinguish the blaze which could be seen several streets away.

Although the police are not thought to have attended last night’s incident, the fire comes following a number of arson attacks on barns in the North-East, leading residents to worry that this was the case last night.

Michelle Preston, of nearby Minors Crescent, took photos of the fire that could be seen from her home.

She said: “Last year or the year before, the farm nearby had its barn and all its hay burnt down.”

In December last year there was a major blaze at a Heighington barn in which 30 tonnes of hay bales were destroyed.

And in March 2015, five teenagers were arrested following a fire at a cattle barn on Bedale Road in Aiskew.

Earlier this year, in April, four crews of firefighters tackled a blaze at Brignall, between Richmond and Barnard Castle.