FIREFIGHTERS who have spent the past three days tackling a large haystack fire will fully extinguish the blaze today.

A large fire broke out in a village near Halstead over the weekend, forcing firefighters into initially tackling the blaze throughout the night.

Essex County Fire & Rescue Service crews were called to Delvyns Lane in Castle Hedingham at around 8.30pm on Saturday night following reports of a haystack fire.

Halstead Gazette: Photo from Halstead Fire StationPhoto from Halstead Fire Station

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they discovered that between 500 and 1000 tonnes of hay was completely engulfed in flames.

In a bid to mitigate any danger, they worked quickly to identify any surrounding risks such as nearby power cables and large crop fields, before working to reduce the spread of the fire.

Attempting to extinguish the fire, firefighters worked throughout the night, dampening the straw and turning it over.

Halstead Gazette: Photo from Halstead Fire StationPhoto from Halstead Fire Station

After battling the blaze for nearly 12 hours, fire crews reported at 7.30am on Sunday that steady progress was being made, but would stay at the scene until the area was completely cooled and safe.

It has now been reported that fire crews are still at the scene, but will be leaving later today once they have fully dealt with the fire.

An investigation into the cause of the fire will take place in due course.