A FARM which has starred in M&S TV adverts featuring celebrity chef Tom Kerridge says a fire in an agricultural building was probably caused by faulty piece of equipment.

Cobrey Farms near Coughton, south of Walford are one of the nation’s biggest asparagus producers, covering some 1,500 hectares and employing up to 1.400 people across its sites.

Nine fire crews rushed to the site around 8pm on Thursday, February 13, after the blaze took hold in a single-storey 20m by 20m building containing farm machinery and wooden packaging pallets which were "well alight".

Four Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews, plus a water carrier from Peterchurch, an incident command unit from Ledbury, and the environmental protection unit from Tenbury Wells, supported by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service crews from Cinderford and Newent, fought the blaze for two hours, which was extinguished without spreading further to nearby poly tunnels.

A post from the business later said: “Cobrey Farms suffered a fire on its site at Coleraine Buildings near Ross-on-Wye on the evening of 13th February 2025.

“The fire was discovered early and local fire crews responded rapidly to bring the blaze under control by 10pm.

“The cause is unknown at this stage but suspected to be caused by a faulty piece of farm equipment.

“We are thankful that no-one was injured in the incident and we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the local firefighters who acted swiftly and professionally to help contain the fire to a single storage building, resulting in minimal impact to the business.”

An HWFRS spokesperson said: “Further nearby potato crates were also well alight. The incident was sectorised and fought using three hose reel jets and one compressed air foam system jet with the water supply augmented from a nearby stream and a water relay dam.”