Family and friends stood shoulder to shoulder with firefighters in an eight-hour battle to subdue a large barn fire near Kirkby Lonsdale.

Fire engines from Sedbergh, Kirkby Lonsdale, Milnthorpe and Kendal were drafted into help contain a fire at Middleton Hall Farm.

Leading fire fighter Robin Cousins of Staveley was on a training exercise with driving instructor Geoff Hill when the pair spotted smoke escaping from the open-sided Dutch Barn.

Hazel Watson, of the farm, said: "They went and told my mother-in-law, who lives near by, and they phoned the fire brigade.

"The fire brigade were very good and got here quickly but just as they were arriving it all just burst into flames."

Firefighters, who used water pumped from the nearby River Lune in their bid to subdue the flames, eventually brought the fire under control, ensuring none of the surrounding buildings were damaged.