A HAMPSHIRE farm fire which erupted last night has burnt a barn full of thousands of pounds worth of hay and killed pet peacocks who lived inside.

Little Metlands Farm was engulfed in flames on Monday evening. The cause is unknown, but up to £30,000 of hay was burned, a barn wreaked and three peacocks killed.

More than 100 firefighters were called to the fire at the 100-acre farm, in Dean, near Bishop's Waltham, at around 6.15pm yesterday.

Andrew Ruddle, 57 (Image: Charles Elliman) "They're in shock, we all are," said farmer Andrew Ruddle, 57, who inherited the farm from his late mother, who passed away last year.

Andy was away from the farm when the fire began, but his wife and two children were and she braved the blaze to save a peacock, but could not help them all.

The Chronicle asked to speak to Mrs Ruddle, but she was too upset to talk at this time.

Andrew said: "Well, I wasn't here at the time, but my wife and two kids were. They ran out to put it out. 

"We had some animals in there, peacocks just on the end. We managed to get one out but, sadly, the rest did not make it."

He continued: "I came back about 15 minutes after it happened and, obviously, it was pretty bad.

"We moved stuff out the way the best we could. I called 999 and they came as quick as they could."

The farmer did not know exactly how much the fire had cost him but estimated the total value of the hay to be up to £30,000 as well as the unknown cost of a new barn.

The fire service estimated the barn contained around 500 tonnes of baled hay, but Andrew says it was all insured.

Questioned about the performance of the fire services, the farmer said they did, "Fairly well given the situation they were in.

"[They were] kind and considerate."

The fire at Little Metlands Farm (Image: Charles Elliman) Andrew said he would be helped with the clean-up by his friends, including one he was storing a boat for -which was destroyed in the blaze.

The fire will take a long time to burn down and, even then, it will take months to recover and clear up.

He said: "[We've] just gotta wait for it to burn out [and] then scoop up all the ashes. I've got a lot of friends who are willing to help."