LEADING rural insurer NFU Mutual is urging farmers to check their fire precautions and have emergency plans in place, as the cost of devastation caused by farm fires reached a five-year high of £49 million last year. Electrical faults accounted for over half the total last year, followed by arson which rose by 40 percent to £9 million.

Farm fires cost the North West £1.6m in 2019. While this is a fall of 50 percent from the previous year, farm fires remain a significant risk in the area.