Huge Oxfordshire crop fire aftermath revealed in drone shots

Firefighters were called to extinguish around 100 acres of field in Aston Tirrold, near Cholsey, at about 1.30pm on Monday, July 6.

Flames could be seen quickly moving across the crops as a billowing cloud of smoke could be seen more than 30 miles away, according to some reports.

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Nearby resident Sandra Reed-Jennings described it as “quite scary” and added: “Power went off about 5pm for a couple of hours due to the fire.

The huge crop fire took place on Monday in Aston Tirrold (Image: Dave Hunten Hawes)

“A roofer working nearby said smoke was horrendous and loads of fire engines.”

Local landscape photographer and licensed drone operator Hedley Thorne took some shots of the fire-ravaged farmland following the blaze, which was extinguished on Monday evening.

He posted the striking pictures of the burnt fields near Lollingdon Hill to reveal the damage the blaze did to the landscape.

Drone shots reveal the damage to the farmland caused by the blaze (Image: Hedley Thorne)

In an update on Tuesday morning, Oxfordshire fire and rescue service said crews crews left the scene at 9.20pm on Monday having dealt with the fire

Crews had been able to scale back from 14 fire engines to 4 at 6pm yesterday.

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The cause of the fire is currently unknown but not though to be suspicious.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service issued a seasonal warning shortly before responding to the fire, due to the period of hot, dry weather the county is experiencing.

With dried out grasslands and crops being especially susceptible to burning, people are asked to take care not to cause a fire while out in the countryside, by not using disposable barbecues, taking rubbish home and disposing of cigarette butts responsibly.