Nearly 40 firefighters spent the night tackling a huge barn blaze at Carthorpe near Bedale. Crews managed to stop the fire spreading to a barn containing pigs and piglets North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue revealed this morning.

The alarm was first raised around 9.30pm on Monday, crews were still keeping a watch and damping down today to ensure the fire did not start up again.

Four fire engines were initially sent to the scene, with pumps made up to eight as fire fighters battled to stop the blaze spreading between four connected barns covering an area of over 300 by 180 feet.

Crews from Hambleton and Harrogate district worked together to try and stop the blaze spreading to a neighbouring barn containing pigs and piglets. A water boswer was also brought into from Boroughbridge along with a high volume pump from Richmond.

Around 600 tons of straw stored in the barns were destroyed. It took over four hours to bring the blaze under control, with fire crews scaled back to three by 2.40am but the crews from Masham, Ripon and Bedale stayed on the site damping down and making sure the fire did not start up again. 

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: "All sows and piglets were confirmed saved from the fire."