Cattle die in farm fire in the North

Cattle died in a fire on a farm early today which police suspect was started deliberately.

Up to 100 cattle were trapped in a farm outbuilding in Co Down when the fire broke out and police said they did not yet know how many had died.

The Fire and Rescue Service said movement had been seen in the barn but officers could not approach because of fears nearby gas cylinders may explode.

Several homes in the area were evacuated because of concerns over an explosion and passing roads were sealed off to traffic.

The cattle were housed in a farm building on Redhill Road outside Dromore which was beside two other blazing buildings.

Fire officers managed to rescue 50 cattle but stopped before the remaining 100 were freed because of acetylene cylinders found near one of the fires.

A Police Service spokeswoman said the fires were being treated as suspicious.

Alastair Rooney, of the Fire and Rescue Service, said it would be some time before they could move in on the cattle.

“We can see some movement within the shed so we are hoping the cattle will be OK, but until we manage to deal with the acetylene incident and let the cattle out and let the vet look at them, we really don’t know, he said.”