A large barn caught fire on the Hanney Road near Wantage this afternoon and 20 firefighters were sent to tackle the flames.

Incident commander Graham Turner said crews from Abingdon, Wantage, Didcot, and Wheatley were called to the blaze at the 15m x 15m barn containing straw shortly after 4pm.

Flames and smoke could be seen from miles around.

Mr Turner said: “Lots of people spotted the blaze at the fire was visible from miles away – it was under control within 30 minutes but firefighters will be monitoring the situation throughout the weekend.

"The cause of the fire is not yet known."

He said a joint investigation was being carried out with Thames Valley Police.

Eugenia Merola, owner of restaurant La Fontana with her husband Mattia, said the fire started at about 4.30pm. Their restaurant is just opposite the barn.

She said: "We came back at about 4.05pm and there ws nothing. Then at about 4.20pm I could hear these big bangs, like fireworks.

"I thought it could be the family next door but my husband said the barn was on fire.

"The firefighters will probably be there all night.

"The building has practically come down. It all happened very suddenly. We're okay, we haven't been told to move. The lights do flicker occasionally though as there are cables over there."

All roads around the area were closed.