A FARM boss criticised youngsters he believed to be responsible for a woodchip fire that could end up costing him thousands.

Firefighters were called this week after a 200 tonne woodchip pile went up in flames. The chips had been harvested from woodland on Roves Farm, near Sevenhampton, for use in the visitor attraction’s eco-heating system.

Farm owner Rupert Burr believes the fire was set by teenagers at sometime between 9pm and 10pm on Tuesday evening. He said they “undoubtedly would have arrived home smelling of smoke”. However, he said he did not know if it had been set maliciously.

Mr Burr blasted the culprits: “The people that lit it want their hands chopped off. This is sacrilege, the way it’s happened. It just makes you angry, the irresponsibility, especially in conditions we had that day.”

He added: “The farm will now have to buy in wood to chip, rather than using the home produced woodchips that were burnt, costing in excess of £20 000 to replace.

“We’ve lost three years-worth of woodchip heating. It just means we’ve got to go out looking for wood now to replace it with. It’s going to mean an awful lot of work.”

But the fire in the 10-metre high woodchip pile could have been worse, he said. 10 firefighters from Stratton used a hose reel to protect nearby Nightingale Woods.

Mr Burr said it was remarkable the fire had not spread to the conifer woodlands: “Having had very little rain this summer, our countryside is dangerous dry. The woodchip pile is only separated from Nightingale Woods by a hedge and single lane farm track.”

The pile was still smouldering yesterday. It is expected it will continue to smoke for some time.

The woodchips were situated well away from Roves Farm’s popular visitor centre and opening hours have been unaffected.

However, the fire is the latest to hit Roves Farm. Last April, firefighters used hoses to put out a fire in three tonnes of woodchips. And in 2012 and devastating fire destroyed the farm’s visitor centre. Nine fire crews from across the county battled the blaze.

Mr Burr said: “I’m just getting a bit fed up of fires at the moment.”

Wiltshire Police said they had not been informed of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the latest fire.

Roves Farm is open as normal, Monday-Sunday, 9am-5pm. For more, visit: www.rovesfarm.co.uk.