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An estimated £500,000 of hay and straw were destroyed in a huge fire near Braughing.

Police and the fire service are investigating the cause of the blaze, which broke out earlier this month.

The stack, measuring 100m by 100m and 20m high, contained around 16,000 tonnes of bales.

A huge plume of smoke was visible for miles around with witnesses reporting they could see it as far away as Harlow.

It led to emergency services monitoring the situation with air traffic control at Stansted Airport to ensure the safety of aircraft.

The fire broke out at around 4.30am on Friday September 9.

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "On arrival crews were faced with a significant fire in a very large stack of baled hay and straw. The size was around 100m x 100m and 20m high. Overall this amounted to 16,000 tons of hay with an estimated value of over £500,000.

"Fires like this are extremely challenging to control or extinguish, therefore as a result firefighters prioritised protecting the surrounding area and worked with both the farmer and local homeowners to ensure the fire did not spread.

"One of the most significant concerns was the smoke. The fire service has worked closely with colleagues in public health and the UK Health Security Agency using weather forecasts and carrying out plume modelling.

"We have also been in contact with air traffic control at Stansted Airport to monitor if there could be any impact on aeroplane movements."

The blaze was eventually brought under control and crews remained at the site until Monday September 12.

The spokesman added: "An investigation into the cause of the fire is being carried out by our fire investigation team and the police."