A NUMBER of animals were injured, according to Gwent Police, when fire swept through a barn and outbuildings on farmland on the outskirts of Magor on Monday morning.

Eyewitnesses reported a roaring blaze – the crackling of the flames could be heard from several hundred metres away.

The fire started at around 4am on Monday, May 27 at a site with some isolated agricultural buildings, eyewitnesses said.

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Crews from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended and put out the fire, but Gwent Police and the RSPCA were later called to the scene for what the animal protection charity called “animal welfare matters”.

What emerged, an eyewitness said, was that a horse at the scene had been seriously injured in the fire, with much of its hair scorched and burned away, and large open wounds on its skin. Its eyes had also been burned.

Local vets were called to the scene, and eyewitnesses said the horse was later put down because of the extent of its injuries.

The Argus asked the RSPCA if the incident was being investigated.

In response, an RSPCA Cymru spokesperson said: “RSPCA Cymru were contacted by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service in the early hours of Monday morning, following a fire in the Magor area, to provide assistance concerning animal welfare matters.

“Gwent Police and a vet were also in attendance. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide any further information due to legal reasons.”

One eyewitness reported the flames as being visible from Magor village.

"It was really fierce – honestly, the flames were 25 or 30 feet in the air."

Another eyewitness reported hearing the crackling of the fire and initially thinking it was the sound of raindrops on the roof.

A spokesman for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Caldicot, Malpas, and Maindee fire stations all attended the scene, managing to extinguish the fire shortly before 6.30am.

What remained at the site on Monday morning was a scene of devastation. Several mounds of straw were still burning, with thick plumes of smoke filling the air.

A number of shed-type structures had been nearly or completely destroyed, and a caravan appeared to have melted because of the fierce heat of the fire – its windows gone and the curtains in tatters.

Nearby, the axle was all that remained of another vehicle. An eyewitness said it had been another caravan.

Several outbuildings made from corrugated metal sheets had collapsed and lay twisted on the ground.

Eyewitnesses said it was approaching 7am when vets arrived to put down the injured horse.