BURNING hay sent clouds of smoke billowing across the A64, as firefighters from York, Malton and Pickering tackled this dramatic blaze.

Rush-hour traffic slowed to a crawl as it passed the burning barn on Golden Hill, near Malton.

Firefighters spent almost five hours tackling the blaze, which they believe may have been started deliberately.

Before the fire was even out, police had arrested a man in his mid-20s. Today they were still questioning him about the incident.

Two fire engines from Malton were called to the scene just after 4.50pm yesterday.

Firefighters knocked bales over to prevent any structural damage to the barn itself, and used water jets and pitchforks to extinguish the blaze.

But as water levels ran low, they were forced to call for back-up from York and Pickering.

Watch manager Dave Watson said: "We got there quite soon after ignition, and the fire was just starting. We called in appliances from Pickering and Huntington because there was no water supply up there."

He added it was still too early to establish the cause of the fire, but a brigade spokesperson today said it was thought it may have been deliberate.

Fire crews were on the scene until 9.43pm, and were due to revisit the site again today to check for hot-spots.

The barn, which lies just metres away from the busy A64, is owned by Sawkill Farm, part of the Huttons Ambo Estate. It housed 128 bales of hay, most of which were destroyed by smoke or fire.

Farm manger Richard Wainwright was today counting the cost. He said the blaze would cause a major headache.

"Try feeding 1,000 ewes with burnt hay," he said. "This will cause a lot of disruption, leaving us with nothing to feed them."

Updated: 09:37 Wednesday, March 22, 2006