This was the moment a desperate farmer tried to stop his livelihood from going up in flames after a suspected arson attack threatened to destroy a large amount of hay and animal feed.

As these dramatic images show, the man drove his tractor into the inferno in a bid to stop the fire from destroying the feed that would sustain his stock this coming winter. The farmer, who has not been identified, is thought to have used the tractor to clear the burning bales as fire fighters poured water on them.

Darren Crain, who was photographing wildlife in a nearby field at the time of the fire, spoke to the farmer at the scene and said: ‘Unfortunately the fire was the farmer’s winter feed.

‘With this dry weather farmers are struggling to feed their livestock at the moment as there is limited grass so this is quite a blow to the business.

‘It was very hard for him to watch his livelihood go up in flames.’

The fire was eventually left to burn out under the supervision of fire fighters and the farmer, according to reports.

Fire crews were called to the farm near Christchurch, Dorset, at 8.25pm yesterday. A spokesman has since confirmed the fire was believed to have been deliberately lit and that an investigation was under way.