Mr.
Brears, of Fieldside, Crowle, said, "It could have been worse, they could
have been in it. You can replace a barn, but you can't replace a life."'ARSONISTS' SET BARN ABLAZE
FARMER Tom Brears watched helplessly as more than £100,000-worth of his assets went up in smoke at the hands of suspected arsonists.
But rather than slam the mindless destruction of his barn, he breathed a sigh of relief that none of the firebugs had been killed or injured.
Mr.
Brears, of Fieldside, Crowle, said, "It could have been worse, they could
have been in it. You can replace a barn, but you can't replace a life."
The fire took hold on Saturday at about 7.25pm. A friend of Mr. Brears raised the alarm after seeing flames bellowing from the barn.
He also, Mr. Brears said, saw four youths running away from the scene.
The farmer rushed to the l00ft by 75ft metal barn, and managed to drive one of his farm vehicles away from the barn doors.
Unfortunately a Scania wagon and trailer, worth £30,000, was destroyed.
"I
couldn't get the barn door unlocked to get to the wagon. The heat got to me.
It was like a furnace and I had 
to leave," he said.
Inside the £20,000 barn were tons of straw and Mr. Brears began to worry that the blaze would spread to a cattle shed containing 14 cows, just yards away
"I was about to open the gates. I couldn't let them perish," he said.
By this time, 13 fire crews were on the scene. Firefighters spent more than three hours fighting the flames, and one crew stayed overnight as a precaution in case the blaze took hold once more.
Yesterday as the stench of smoke still surrounded the farm, Mr. Brears was left to count the cost of the fire. “We haven’t been that busy because of foot-and-mouth, but everybody has been running out of straw and by next week there will not be much left," he said.
A spokesman for Humberside Police today said: "Police enquiries are still continuing and we urge anyone with information, particularly about the four youths running away to come forward."
