Piglets, calves and a horse had to be rescued after flames ripped through a barn near Newport, causing an estimated £500,000 damage.
Two tractors, a baling machine and nearly 900 tonnes of wheat, straw and hay were also destroyed as a result of the blaze at Four Crosses Farm in Cherrington.
The fire at the farm, which is jointly owned by brothers Stephen, Thomas and Roger Banks, broke out last Friday and Stephen’s wife, Jane, confirmed it looks like it was started deliberately.
Jane said: “The police are treating the fire as malicious which, to be honest, I cannot bare to think about. It is absolutely terrifying to think that someone has done this on purpose.”
The fire broke out at 2am last Friday and lasted for 48 hours. Thirty firefighters rescued five calves and 20 pigs – including eight newborn piglets as well as a horse.
Jane, 44, said: “We heard a loud bang shortly before 2.15am. Stephen thought it was a gun going off, it turned out to be a tyre exploding in the barn. We have CCTV in our bedroom so we were alerted to what was happening and phoned the fire brigade.
“Our neighbour Andrew Crow and his two lads came and helped as well because his wife had seen the fire through their attic window.
“One of Andrew’s sons carried one of the calves and put it in my front garden. My daughter carried another one and the fire service just put the other three over the fence into a field.
“It has been very, very scary. We don’t know what we are dealing with and it’s devastating.”
She added: “The fire service were absolutely marvellous. Thankfully nobody was hurt which is the main thing.”
Anyone with any information on the fire is asked to contact Crimestroppers on 0800 555 111.
by Joseph Masi