A Co Westmeath farm family were victims of an alleged arson attack which will cost them tens of thousands of euro in damage.

On Sunday evening last, a farmer from Co Westmeath was alerted after a neighbour spotted a fire in his yard.

When the family went out to investigate, they found that one of their sheds, hay and straw as well as silage, tractors and machinery, were on fire.

Terry Middleton is the farmer in question. He is highly respected locally and a member of the Irish Shorthorn Society. Terry’s daughter, Amelda, also well known in the showing circles, spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal this week following the incident.

“At around half six on Sunday, we got a call from a neighbour who had spotted fire up at the yard. When we went up to investigate it, we saw that our middle shed was in flames,” Amelda explained.

“There has been extensive damage done to the property and other things around the place. My father’s rotary mower, his topper, a new fertiliser shaker and a sprayer... there were also 50 to 60 bales of hay and straw which have been lost.

“There was a container in the shed which had our quad and a lot of equipment used in showing too. It’s nearly impossible to put a figure on the value of damage done to the place,” Amelda said.

The people responsible also tried to burn further items in the yard, including silage bales and a tractor.

“They didn’t stop with the other stuff – they tried setting fire to other items.

“They pulled out straw from the shed and put it on the bales of silage and lit the straw to try and get the bales to burn too. They put a couple of bales of straw or hay around the tractor and set those bales on fire too. But the tractor didn’t go up.

“They did, however, put something in the tank of the tractor because when it was started it stalled afterwards and hasn’t been able to start since. We’re waiting to see if there’s long-term damage done to the engine there.

“They also slashed new tyres on my father’s cattle trailer,” she said.

Amelda said the whole family is in shock but thanked their neighbours for the help and support.

“My father would go without food to help others. He’s been here over 30 years and never had one day of trouble with anyone in the area. This is unbelievable to us all,” Amelda said.

“Since Sunday, though, we’ve had 50 or 100 people through our kitchen offering help and support. We can’t thank the people around us enough for what they have done for us. We’ll never forget it,” Amelda added.

Neighbours have also indicated that they want to donate to the Middletons as they are without insurance. They have set up an online fund where donations can be made at www.gofund.me/ middletonfarmfund.

An Garda Síochána in Moate are leading the investigation and they confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that they are treating the incident as suspicious.

“We can confirm that at 6.30pm on Sunday 1 November, An Garda Síochána were alerted to a fire on a farm in Moate, Co Westmeath. After an investigation by the Garda forensic division, we can confirm that we are treating the case as suspicious,” the spokesperson said.

Information

Anyone with information pertaining to the fire on the Middleton farm can contact Moate garda station on 0906-481106 or the Garda confidential helpline on 1800-666 111.