A farmer's son says he has little confidence that the police will catch an arsonist who torched a barn and almost caused a major chemical incident.

Fire ravaged through a seven-bay dutch barn in Knightlands Lane, Long Sutton, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Firefighters battled the blaze for seven hours to prevent fire spreading to two other barns containing 25 tonnes of chemical fertiliser and one tonne of grain.

Rupert Cox, whose father owns the barns, said rural crime was a huge problem.

He said: “The big frustration is no one gets caught for it. There is a big issue of rural crime, especially in the Turn Hill area.

“I think this attack was malicious. My dad has gone to some lengths to enhance security at the barns so no one could break in and the culprits took the view that if they couldn’t break in they would torch it.

“The one that was torched was full of dry hay and straw so went up in an instant.”

Farm machinery was removed from the burning steel barn by firefighters as they left a stack of straw to burn out. Police attended the scene on Sunday and carried out further investigations on Monday morning.

A large crowd gathered to watch the fire from 1am on Sunday morning.

Mr Cox said: “We designed the barns so that if there was a disaster the others could be defended and the fire could be isolated. We have had arson before. We just have to get on with it. It has been a problem locally. You can drive from Long Sutton to Ilchester and pass three barns that have been torched deliberately.

“There is going to be the cost of clearing up the mess, which will probably run into the thousands.

“It was a big blaze. You could see it from a huge distance and the flames were towering over the building. It was just after 1am when I got there and it was an inferno. I think there are serious questions to be asked what will now be done by the police.

“This was a big incident for the fire brigade to deal with. I think at one time I counted five fire engines.

“As a district councillor I constantly challenged the police on its rural crime detection. Yes, in the countryside we’re not likely to be shot or stabbed but there are these attacks on people’s livelihoods which shouldn’t be allowed to go on.”

Roger Cox, 82, who farms sheep and arable crop at Manor Farm, said:“It was a big fire but fortunately we didn’t lose any stock. It will be a big clean-up job and cost a fair bit.

“It’s a case of getting on with it and just sorting it out.

“If it had spread we could have had a serious problem.”

Firefighters from Somerton, Martock and Yeovil were sent to the barn fire. A water carrier from Yeovil also attended with an incident command unit from Ilminster.

A Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “The cause of this fire is thought to be deliberate. Crews extinguished the fire using two main jets and one hose reel jet. The barn and its contents were severely damaged by fire.

“Crews protected two other barns containing a tonne of grain and 25 tonnes of chemical fertiliser, which could have made the incident a lot worse. The barn was 90 per cent damaged.”

Police are now investigating.

Chief Inspector Sean Williams said: “This incident is currently under investigation as a fire of unknown origin. We take all offences reported to us extremely seriously and will investigate the incident thoroughly.

“Rural crime is a key focus for us and this has included setting up the rural crime team in 2010. It was created to focus on rural related crimes such as thefts from outbuildings, metal theft, driving offences and even fraud and money laundering. So far more than £100,000 worth of stolen items have been recovered and we have made more than 60 arrests.

“In January we held a Rural Crime Reduction and Partnerships seminar at Long Sutton which was attended by district and local councillors from across East Somerset, along with other partners and the wider community. The purpose of this event was to brief the public on the actions we are taking on rural crime and to build on the many successful partnerships we have working together on rural crime.

“We cannot do our job without the support of the public and would encourage people to contact us if they have any information about the fire, or any other incident.”

If you have information that can help you can call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.