TWO horses escaped unharmed from a barn fire in Benfleet overnight.

Firefighters were called to the blaze in a barn measuring 15m by 5m on Acacia Road at 1.20am on Friday morning with reports of horses being stuck inside.

The fire, which is believed to have been caused by faulty electrical equipment, had spread across most of the structure.

However, the section containing both horses had not been touched by flames by the time firefighters arrived.

The crews from Rayleigh Weir were able to douse most of the flames before retrieving the two horses from inside the barn.

By 1.45am the fire had been extinguished with help being provided to firefighters by the owners of the building along with other residents who live near to the scene.

David Ferguson, leading firefighter of Rayleigh Weir’s red watch, said: “It was a large barn. About 80 per cent of the structure was alight.

"Because of the high winds taking the smoke away from the animals, we decided to attempt to extinguish the flames first before concentrating on getting the horses out.

“We were able to deal with the fire quite quickly with thanks going to civilians who assisted firefighters during the incident.”

A herd of sheep living next to the barn also had to be moved away from the area.