Big barn blaze at open-air museum

Approximately 350,000 people visit Beamish each year

Firefighters allowed a large barn fire at a County Durham tourist attraction to burn out under supervision.

Crews were called to the Hammer Square area of Beamish Museum in the early hours of Saturday, where up to 19 tonnes of hay were well alight.

The barn, located outside the museum's visitors' area, has now been declared structurally unsafe.

A Beamish Museum spokeswoman said the site, near Stanley, was open for business as usual.

She said: "The barn, which is used to store hay and straw for our sheep and cattle, has been damaged by the fire.

"It is located in an agricultural area which is not open to visitors.

"The museum has not been affected and it is business as usual."