A BARN fire that destroyed 300 tonnes of hay led to asbestos fears and traffic problems on Thursday.

Nearly 20 firefighters from Stockton Heath, Runcorn, Malpas and Nantwich were called out to the incident on Penkford Lane in Collins Green shortly after 5pm.

When they arrived they found the 20mx30m barn, which contained 300 tonnes of barley and farming equipment, well alight.

The police were informed and residents in the vicinity were asked to close their windows because of suspected asbestos in the roof of the burning building.

Village resident Les Kay praised the firefighters' efforts to bring the blaze under control but said the notification of the incident was very poor.

He said: "I would really like to thank the firefighters as they really did a good job. But no proper signs were put in place to say that there had been an incident, which could have caused real problems.

"The same happened when there was a fire in the same area last September.

"No proper diversion signs were put up even though the road was closed for several hours.

"It is a dangerous road and the communication between all the agencies to say that there has been an incident is really quite poor."

A spokesman for Cheshire Fire Service confirmed no one was injured as a result of the fire and relief crews were at the site throughout the night.

The blaze was put out at 5.26am.

An investigation to determine the cause of the fire has been launched.