A NORTH Yorkshire teenager has described the dramatic moment that he and a friend ran into a burning shed to rescue terrified cattle.

Seventeen-year-old Tyler Scarr and his friend, Matthew Chisholm, herded the frightened animals to safety as the blazing barn fell down around them.

Tyler, an agricultural apprentice from Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales and Matthew, from Penrith, were driving past the farm at Plumpton, between Penrith and Carlisle, at about 11.30pm on September 11 when they spotted the blaze.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The farming couple who owned the livestock were asleep in the nearby farmhouse, unaware of the drama unfolding.

“The gate was locked, so we shouted, but there was nobody about, just me and Matthew,” said Tyler.

“The point we decided to go in was when we heard the cattle bellowing and crying. We could see them running about; they were stressed with the heat and the smoke.”

Tyler and Matthew managed to alert the farm owners and the fire service and then got the barn door open by throwing jumpers over the hot metal handles.

The terrified cattle had knocked down some of the fencing inside that divided the barn. Tyler herded the animals out from behind, but one charged at Matthew, knocking him to the ground. He escaped by jumping over a gate.

The pair managed to save all the cattle - and some machinery.

“Being farmers, we knew what was at risk; it’s your whole livelihood in a situation like that,” said Tyler.

“If we had been a couple of minutes later we couldn’t have got in the shed. By the time we got the cattle out it was falling down behind us as we were leaving. The bales on fire started coming down and all the debris from the building was collapsing in.”

Tyler, who works as an agricultural apprentice at Tunstalls Tractors in Kirkby Stephen and at his grandparents’ farm in Hawes, was taken to Cumberland Infirmary with his friend suffering from smoke inhalation.

Matthew also suffered first degree burns to his face.

Tyler said they were due to be kept in hospital for monitoring for a couple of days, but they decided to discharge themselves.

“We asked for some food as we hadn’t eaten since 12pm and they could only offer us a vending machine and some water, so we discharged ourselves and went back to see if we could offer any more help at the farm, then went to McDonald’s.