A local resident has shared the moment he looked outside his window to see a field close to his house on fire.

"It was a bit of a shock," the North Houghton resident said. 

"We live near Test Valley School and the field behind was suddenly just this big, bright orange glow."

The resident first realised something was up shortly after 8pm, when a fire broke out in the fields. "I was in the garden painting furntiure. My wife was upstairs. She lent out the window and said she could hear crackling and smell smoke."

The resident said he didn’t know how it had started but commented on how quickly it spread.

“There was this crackling, whooshing noise,” he said.

After running down to the field to see what was going on, the resident said the fire service were quickly at the scene. 

"They were pretty quick to respond," he said. 

The community rallied round with farmers using their tractors and combine harvesters to help provide light to guide the emergency service workers.

Residents also came to find out what was happening. 

“There were quite a few people out, wondering what was going on. I think it's because there was quite a lot of smoke. It wasn’t thick black clouds or anything but there is that smoky smell in the air,” he said.

To his knowledge, the local resident said no one was injured. 

Another witness has told The Advertiser they had been to Test Valley School to check on the animals who are all safe and accounted for. 

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been contacted for comment.

The cause of fire is not known.