A tractor was destroyed when the trailor carrying bales of hay was set alight by an overheated bearing.

Two fire crews from Eastbourne were sent to Cornish Farm on Beachy Head Road, Eastbourne, at 16:41.

A spokesman for Eastbourne Fire Station said: “The driver managed to drive it to a safe place, but by the time we got there it was beyond saving – it was totally destroyed.

“The bearing had overheated in the trailor carrying the bales of hay and as soon as the straw caught it, it would have gone up rapidly.

“The smoke coming from the tractor was spectacular and would have been seen by lots of people.”

As well as the tractor and trailor being destroyed, an area of the farm which harvests corn was affected, but nobody was injured.