A number of pigs have died at a ‘significant fire’ near Wallingford.

Crews from Oxfordshire and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service were called out to the blaze at 16:23 yesterday afternoon, where there was ‘significant smoke' in the area.

Five fire appliances from Goring, Didcot, Abingdon, Caversham Road, Wokingham Road were brought to the scene. Two specialist water carriers from Wheatley and Bracknell along with a hydraulic platform Whitley Wood and Reading were also used.

The service warned residents to close their doors and windows if near the vicinity of the fire.

A spokesperson for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The fire is in an agricultural unit, where a number of pigs are known to have sadly have been involved.

“On arrival, crews were faced with a fully developed fire involving a single storey building, approximately 100 metres x 50 metres, with a significant smoke plume visible. Additional crews were requested.

“Crews worked with the farm owners to fight the fire, having secured water supplies and using a hydraulic platform to access the incident from above in addition as well as protecting surrounding buildings and storage.”

Crews from Oxfordshire remained on scene throughout the night, due to the size of the incident

The fire comes as farmers have warned that up to 120,000 pigs could be culled as the abattoir labour shortage has led to a backlog of animals ready for slaughter.

The backlog means that farms are struggling to find space for the extra pigs, leaving them with no choice but to cull them in the face of overcrowding concerns.

More information to follow as we have it.