Huge cloud of smoke has the town talking (From This is Hampshire)

Fire is a controlled burn of crops started by a farmer

5:06pm Saturday 22nd September 2012 in News By Helen Morton

A HUGE smoke cloud in the Basingstoke skies this afternoon has got the town talking.

The billowing smoke, which is visible for miles, first appeared before 2pm and appears to be coming from the Wootton St Lawrence area.

But firefighters at Basingstoke fire station said the smoke was the result of a controlled burn of crops in a field, started by a local farmer.

Watch manager Dave Williams said: “We called control and they said they had been inundated with calls about it.

“But it’s just a controlled burn from a farmer who might have got a little carried away.

“They do happen a lot this time of year but it is unusual to see them going that well. It is producing a lot of smoke. These sorts of burns normally produce quite brown smoke because of the nature of what is being burned. The smoke from a house fire and the like tends to be much darker in colour.”

The size of the smoke cloud has proved to be quite a talking point. The Gazette has received dozens of calls and social networking site twitter has been buzzing with speculation about the blaze.