Barn blaze alert on A500

Audlem commuters from Stoke-on-Trent may have found journey times affected by a large barn fire at Barthomley today.

Smoke was reported drifting across the A500 and M6 near Junction 16 after a quantity of straw caught fire in a Dutch bay barn.

Four fire engines were at the scene early this afternoon after about 40 tonnes of straw were found well alight.

Firefighters were concerned at the fire risk to a diesel tank nearby which was being cooled by a water jet and was eventually made safe.

Around 30 cows were herded into a nearby barn for safety as firefighters wearing breathing apparatus concentrated three water jets on the source of the blaze.

Unaffected straw was removed from the barn during the operation and dumped in a local field. The affected straw is believed to have self-combusted.

• The A500 at Audley was also partially blocked and slow traffic reported around 4.50pm due to broken down vehicle

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