A BLAZE took hold of a combine harvester at Eastnor, gutting half the vehicle and setting fire to one hectare of corn.

The incident, in a field off the Malvern Road, took hold just before 5pm on Thursday (September 7).

Two appliances from Ledbury attended, plus the water carrier from Hereford.

The firefighters arrived to find the combine well alight and with crops burning round it.

Sub Officer Doug Drew, of Ledbury, said: "It was quite a big blaze for a few minutes.

"The biggest risk was from the possibility of the tyres blowing on the combine and fragmenting everywhere."

Up to four tonnes of grain inside the combine were starting to smoulder and to prevent a big blaze taking hold in the storage area, the firefighters had to get the grain out of the vehicle. At the height of the fire, three hose reels were in use and two sets of breathing apparatus.

Tackling the blaze took a little over one hour, with the stop message given at 6.08pm.

SO Drew said that the blaze damaged around 50 per cent of the combine harvester, especially the engine compartment.

Asked about the likely cause of the blaze in the combine, he said: "There are that many moving mechanisms, things can get clogged with straw and chaff."