A farmer has been hailed for bravely ploughing crops just metres away from a wildfire in a bid to stop it from spreading to homes.

The blaze engulfed almost 20 acres of land on Lenham Heath, between Maidstone and Ashford, yesterday afternoon, prompting dozens of emergency responders to be sent to the scene.

They fought the flames for more than 90 minutes, while escorting people close by to safety.

Landowner Andy Barr says his neighbour Bill Alexander "rapidly stepped in" by using his tractor to cut the crops when the wind started to push the fire towards nearby properties.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Barr said: "Please tell everyone to be careful what they do along roads and paths.

"Spring barley was up in flames and the wind turned towards my brother’s house.

"Luckily Bill Alexander and local firm TC Agri Ltd saved the day.

"It looked like I was going to lose a lot more until those I’ve mentioned rapidly stepped in.

"Also many, many thanks to Kent Fire and Rescue who were brilliant and are facing far too many of these at the moment."

Aerial footage of the fire shows Mr Alexander's ploughing through the spring barley to create a buffer around the inferno.

Mr Barr said his fellow farmer had "performed heroics in my field".

The pair appeared today on ITV's This Morning, to talk about the incident.

Mr Barr said: "I was actually working in a barn in the middle of the afternoon and I got a call from another one of my neighbours saying 'what is all that smoke?'."

"I thought 'what smoke?', and I went outside and looked down over the farm and there was huge billows of it coming up from a field nearly a mile away and thought 'oh my god'.

"I quickly phoned the fire brigade and guided them in, then on the way down to the fire, Bill phoned me up and said 'I can see what is happening, is there anything you want me to do?'"

"I knew I had to move some cattle out the way and open lots of gates, so I said 'you know what, Bill, it would be really handy if we could have a cultivator down here'."

"Without hesitation, he said 'I'll be there as soon as I can'."

Mr Alexander said: "I knew I had to put something between the fire and the further crop or houses the other side, so putting a cultivator through there seemed to be the best option just to mix some soil with the standing crop.

"It was warm, it was noisy, it was smoky. I am old enough to have been around when we were still allowed to burn stubble.

"I knew at that point we had to put fire breaks in before we could set fire to the fields, so I've been there before many years ago when we were allowed to do it and have seen it before."

He added: "It is absolutely terrifying how quickly it can all happen."

The blaze was so large that it was said to be visible to motorists on the M20 between Junctions 8 for Leeds Castle and 9 near Ashford.

"It is absolutely terrifying how quickly it can all happen..."

Fire service officials have confirmed no injuries have been reported.

They said: "Eight fire engines, all-terrain vehicles and a bulk water carrier were sent to reports of a standing crop fire in fields on Lenham Heath.

"Crews worked hard to get the fire under control which covered approximately eight hectares, the equivalent of almost 20 acres."

It is not yet known what caused the incident.