A BUSINESSMAN has blamed Yorkshire Water after a fire broke out in his barn destroying five vehicles.
The blaze ripped through an outbuilding at Castle House Farm near Castle Hill.
Twenty-five firefighters battled the flames, which damaged six motor homes and two motorbikes. The barn roof was also severely damaged in the incident.
Philip Coates, 65, believes the fire could have been put out quicker if water pressure in the area was higher.
He said yesterday: “It appears that there was an electrical fault in one of the mobile homes which caused a fire in the shed.
“The fire brigade turned up but they had a huge problem because a couple of years ago Yorkshire Water decided to turn the pressure down.
“There wasn’t enough pressure at the mains on Ashes Lane and Hey Lane to supply the two engines.
“The firefighters had to get in touch with Yorkshire Water and ask them to turn the pressure up.
“It took about one hour. All the firefighters could do in the meantime was contain the fire.
“It’s not good. We used to have excellent water pressure but they decided to turn down the pressure three or four years ago so they wouldn’t have as many leaks.”
Mr Coates, who rents out bays in the barn for vehicle storage, said Thursday’s blaze had caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage to the six mobile homes and two motorbikes stored there.
“Both motorbikes and three of the mobile homes were burnt out completely. The other three mobile homes will probably be write-offs,” he said.
“A new motor home would cost about £50,000 and a good quality second-hand one would be around £20,000.
“The first priority was to get in touch with the owners before they found out about the fire from other sources.
“It’s very distressing for them but they accept that it was one of those things that can happen and it’s the reason that you have insurance. No-one’s to blame.
“I was really amazed that they were more concerned about our loss.”
Mr Coates has lived on the farm all his life. He gave up agriculture in 1997 and now runs self-catering cottages on the site.
The Examiner contacted Yorkshire Water for a comment yesterday. None was forthcoming.
