RODENTS are being blamed for causing a serious fire in a stables at a York farm.
Two horses - Murphy and Romance - were rescued by farmer Colin Cartwright from his outbuilding at Sugar Hill Farm, in Stockton Lane.
He was alerted to the blaze at 9.45pm last night.
Station officer Mal Austwick said the likely cause of the fire was rodents chewing through electrical wiring in the makeshift stables. Mr Cartwright tried to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher before fire crews arrived. His wife, Kate, rescued one of the horses which had strayed on to the road.
Three fire appliances attended the scene from York and Selby. They used breathing apparatus and hose reels to extinguish the blaze, which took several hours.
Mrs Cartwright told the Evening Press she was relieved the horses were safe.
"We're managing all right," she said.
Updated: 11:32 Monday, September 22, 2003
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