A farmer has been praised after a fire engulfed hay bales.

Residents spotted flames and smoke coming from the blaze at Ham Farm, Ham Road, Faversham, at around 2.30pm today.

Babiche Deysel told KentOnline: “I noticed it around 2.30pm as we were sitting outside on our balcony.

“We could actually hear the fire which is what alerted us to it.

“It just caught our eye as flames initially were quite high and lots of smoke.

“We then also heard fire engines in the town. We couldn’t see them from our view point but flames started to die down after a while.”

Multiple residents praised the actions of the farmer who helped keep the fire contained.

“Farmer was going around the edge of fire and turning the ground while the firemen tackled the flames,” said one Facebook post, whilst another remarked: “Great work by the farmer.”

The land where the fire broke out has been earmarked for 250 homes, with protests taking place in June.

The No Houses on Ham Farm group has been opposing the development since the plans to build the estate were announced in March.

A spokesperson for the fire service said: “KFRS was called to reports of hay bales alight in a field at Ham Farm, Faversham at 2.29pm.

“Our initial response with two fire engines was scaled up rapidly to six due to the size of the area affected. Crews worked hard in difficult conditions to bring the fire under control.

“They worked closely with the landowner to create fire breaks, leaving the scene in their care with a small number of bales left alight to burn out naturally.

“There are no reports of any injuries and the cause of the fire has not been established.

“Our firefighting operations were complete at 4.26pm.”