Homeowners have been told to keep their windows and doors shut for the next three days following a barn fire on the Oxfordshire border last night (May 16).

The fire at a steel barn in Middleton Cheney, a village near Banbury, has been left to burn under control but smoke will persist over the next 72 hours.

Firefighters were called to the barn in Warkworth Road at just after 10.30pm.

Fire engines from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, and a fire officer from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, were the first on the scene.

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They arrived to find a steel barn containing 350 bales of straw fully ablaze.

Oxfordshire crews left the scene upon arrival of a crew from Brackley, and the decision was taken to allow the fire to burn under control of the fire service and the landowner.

Homeowners in Overthorpe and Warkworth were advised to keep their windows and doors shut due to large volumes of smoke.

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This warning has now been issued for the next 72 hours.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We anticipate that residents will continue to see smoke in the area for the next 72 hours while the burn continues, and we would recommend residents continue to keep windows and doors shut throughout as a precaution.”

Once the fire is out, an investigation will take place to determine the cause.