A FARMER hit out at arsonists today for their ‘attempted murder’ after a barn with 30 heifers was set alight.

Eric Sealey claimed the cows, all due to give birth, could have been killed in the blaze near Broadmayne.

He warned that the fire could have been ‘catastrophic’ if the wind had been blowing in the opposite direction.

The heifers, worth around £50,000, were just yards from 260 bales of hay which were set on fire on Saturday night.

Mr Sealey, who looks after the cows at the barns near Broadmayne, said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable.

“The people who did this aren’t just arsonists, vandals or criminals. In livestock terms I see it as attempted murder. The barn is effectively a maternity ward for livestock.

“If someone started a fire next to the maternity unit at the Dorchester hospital there would be a huge outcry.”

Mr Sealey added: “Luckily for us the wind was in the direction away from the livestock building. If it had been blowing the other way there could have been catastrophic results.”

It is the second arson attack on the barns and buildings in recent years. The roof is still missing from one of the barns after the first attack.

The fire broke out at 8.30pm on Saturday night at the buildings off Chalky Road. Mr Sealey was there until 2am. Police and four crews of firefighters from Dorchester, Maiden Newton and Weymouth and a water carrier from Wareham battled the blaze.

Electricity board officials were also on hand amid concerns for overhead power cables. Firefighters had also dealt with a patch of grassland which was also on fire in the area.

The fire service said that police were investigating the blaze.

Some 75 tonnes of hay worth between £2,000 and £3,000 was destroyed in the fire. Call the police on 01305 222222 with any information.