Firefighters spent 18 hours dealing with a blaze that closed the A1017 between Haverhill and Clare

Nine fire crews worked in shifts for more than 18 hours to extinguish 50-60 bales of straw that caught fire on the back of a lorry in Baythorne End.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service was called to the A1017 between Haverhill and Clare at at 4.28pm on Tuesday to reports of a vehicle fire near the entrance to Baythorne Hall.

A crew from Newport attended and worked alongside crews from Haverhill and Clare, from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, to extinguish a fire affecting a lorry and the 50 to 60 bales of straw it was carrying.

A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue Service said: "Due to the remote location and lack of water supply, Halstead’s water bowser, which supplies high volumes of water, attended.

"Crews worked extremely hard to remove the burning straw and extinguish it.

"Crews from Saffron Walden and Colchester took over at 7.07pm.

"By 8.17pm, all the straw had been taken off the lorry and, working with a farmer, moved to a nearby field to burn under control."

A crew remained at the scene, he added, with firefighters from Thaxted, Harlow, Hawkwell and Wethersfield taking turns throughout the night and morning. The final crews left the scene at 10.57am today.

Firefighters from Newport, Saffron Walden, Thaxted, Hawkwell and Wethersfield are on-call firefighters with Essex - they live or work within five minutes of an on-call fire station and attend incidents.

If you live or work within five minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be paid to protect your community. Find out more about the role HERE.