Around 400 pigs have died after a barn caught fire on a farm in East Yorkshire, it has been confirmed.

The on-farm blaze occurred on Riston Road, Catwick, around 1pm on Sunday July 7 according to Humberside Fire and Rescue service.

The pigs housed in the steading were all ‘fatally injured’ and the building itself ‘completely destroyed’ the service added.

‘Accidental ignition’ was the ‘most likely’ explanation for the cause of the incident.

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Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to a nearby barn, which suffered smoke damage. Five fire engines were involved in a five-hour operation to extinguish the blaze.

According to the latest figures from NFU Mutual, the number of farm fires have shot up by 21%.

NFU Mutual’s advice on improving fire safety includes:

Having an evacuation plan in place in the event of a fire; avoiding messing with electronics as electrical faults are a major cause of farm fires and electric shocks can cause severe injury if not death; having suppression systems in place to detect, contain and extinguish the fire; keeping on top of housekeeping and making sure materials and machinery are stored correctly eliminating dust and debris; keeping control over any hot work that is being done such as welding, cutting or grinding alongside the use of blow lamps and blow torches.