A fire destroyed a disused barn in Aldenham yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to Blackbird Farm, in Blackbird Lane, at around 4pm after a derelict barn went up in flames.

Crews from Garston and Watford battled the blaze, which took approximately two hours to bring under control.

Investigations following the fire showed it was not accidental.

Alistair Pinkerton, contract farmer at Blackbirds farm, said: “I’m led to believe it was probably youngsters who started the fire, We have had problems before of children entering the site. It could have just been a small fire which got out of hand or it could have been purposefully meant to destroy the barn.

“The fire has not affected the day-to-day running of the farm.”