Ten fire crews battled a massive blaze at a four-acre chicken shed on a farm in Cheshire this morning – as plumes of smoke were seen for miles around.

Crews from Greater Manchester, Staffordshire and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service worked together to control the fire that started at around 6.30am on Checkley Lane near Bridgemere.

Firefighters arrived at the site at 8.00am and used jet hoses to tackle the fire and stop it from spreading to the rest of the farm. 

Footage of the blaze showed the sky covered in dark plumes of smoke. Thankfully, no people or chickens were harmed in the blaze.

Neighbours were asked to keep their doors and windows shut due to the huge plumes of smoke billowing from the empty shed.

Carol Barlow, 71, who lives half a mile away from the chicken shed on Buddileigh Farm, said the smoke was ‘thick black’.

She said: ‘I heard the first few fire engines going past and I didn’t look but by the fifth and sixth I looked and that’s when I saw the black smoke. 

‘It was just billowing and it reached a couple of miles this way, just thick black.’ 

‘The fire service had their work cut out today,’ she said. 

Specialist teams attended the fire including, a high-reach extending turret from Macclesfield, high-volume pumps from Cheshire and Greater Manchester and an aerial ladder from Chester that arrived at 8.15.

A fire service spokesperson said the firefighters were ‘making good progress’ by 9.35am and just under an hour later said the fire was under control.

People as far as South Cheshire and North Staffordshire said they could see the smoke billowing into the sky.

The spokesperson said the blaze was ‘partially scaled back’ by 1.15pm and some fire crews had left the farm.

Aaron Collis, Area Manager at Cheshire Fire and Rescue, said: ‘At approximately 06:30 am, firefighters were called to a significant fire at an empty chicken shed in Checkley. 

‘At the height of the incident, ten fire engines from across Cheshire, with support from Staffordshire and Shropshire, alongside a range of specialist appliances, were in attendance. 

Due to the significant smoke plume, a major incident was initially declared, although this has since been stood down.’