VIDEO: Leamington band saves farming machinery from fire on Europa Way

The three band members, Mark Jervis, Barney Porter and Harry Synge, moved the machinery away from inside the barn and cleared a trailer from the entrance to the farm so the fire brigade would have better access.

The members of the six-piece function band ‘Wired’ were heading home after playing a gig in Birmingham.

The three would not have usually headed home on Europa Way, but they wanted to stop off at the nearby McDonald’s restaurant on Queensway.

When they realised it was shut, they headed back down Europa Way and noticed an orange glow by the side of the road coming from Cottage Farm.

They pulled over and initially saw bales of hay on fire, but upon closer inspection they saw that the farm’s barn was burning down.

Mr Jervis, a farmer himself, was worried that livestock could be inside the barn and the three opened the gate and entered the farm to see if any animals were in danger after calling the fire brigade.

Although no animals were inside, a number of machinery was inside the barn and was in danger of catching fire, including the farm’s tractor.

Mr Jervis said: “Luckily the keys were in the ignition, so I got in the tractor and drove it away from the barn.

“Its back wheels were on fire and the steering wheel was so hot I could barely touch it.

“We managed to move a trailer away from the entrance so the fire brigade could get in.”

A commenter on Facebook said what the men did was “a brave thing to do”, and another suggested the men changed their band’s name to ‘Farm Heroes’.

Two fire engines arrived to begin with, and a third was called for soon after.

A spokesman for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue service described the call they received from the band as “very informative”, as the band accurately described the dimensions of the barn and the pile of hay bales.

The three would like to get in touch with the farmer who runs Cottage Farm.

The fire forced the closure of Europa Way in both directions by Warwickshire Police due to the need for fire crews to access water from the other side of the road.

This caused serious traffic problems as the road remained shut between the Heathcote Lane junction and the Tachbrook Park Drive junction during rush-hour and for most of the day, with one parent’s school run taking over an hour when usually it would have taken 25 minutes.

The road was reopened in the afternoon after the fire was put out after ten hours.