100 Christmas turkeys rescued from Gloucestershire barn fire

100 turkeys were rescued from a fire that broke out in a barn in Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire at around 4.30am on 10^th December.

It is thought that the fire was started by an electrical fault in the barn.

Fire station commander Dave Pike said that all turkeys were safely rescued from the fire but were still destined to be Christmas dinner. Mr Pike said: “I understand the birds had been readied for Christmas, and I don’t think this morning’s incident is really going to change that. They were corralled to a safe place elsewhere on the farm, and all are doing fine. But, as I understand it, they are still due to be slaughtered.”

Two fire appliances and 12 firefighters  from Cinderford community fire station were sent to the scene and were later joined by additional crews.

The barn contained around 50 tons of hay, one tractor and one combine harvester which were all severely damaged in the incident. There were no casualties reported.