THE owners of a family farm hit by a fire over the late May bank holiday weekend near Whitchurch will be reopening to the public this week.

J Lea & Son Steele Farm was hit by a fire on Sunday, May 28, and has been closed to the public, but the owners are intending to open again to the public on Friday, June 16.

The investigation into the cause of the fire remains ongoing.

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No animals were harmed and none of the potatoes were destroyed and the owners are pleased to be reopening.

Farmer, Martyn Lea said: "It is good to be back in business.

"We are looking at the fire and its effect on small parts of the farm.

"A lot of the grain, equipment and all the potatoes are absolutely fine.

"It will be good to get the public back in and be up and running again."

He thanked members of the public for their continued support since the fire.

Whitchurch Herald: The farm was hit by a blaze during the May Bank Holiday.The farm was hit by a blaze during the May Bank Holiday. (Image: J Lea & Son Steele Farm)

He said: "We'd just like to thank the public for support.

"People are offering different services.

"It is nice to hear from so many people.

"People were here on the day and tried to help in any way they could."

Mr Lea mentioned the farm had faced issues with power since the fire.

He said: "It is mainly our electrics supply and our inverters to our solar panels that we've lost.

"We have got a generator for the moment until we get the power restored."

The farmer mentioned why the family felt only able to re-open the farm to the public now.

Mr Lea said: "We were getting debris off the yard and waiting for the go-ahead.

Whitchurch Herald: The farm has thanked members of the public for support it has received.The farm has thanked members of the public for support it has received. (Image: J Lea & Son Steele Farm)

"We have been getting Harris fencing put up.

"We are going to be using an alternative drive for people to get to the barnyard.

"We have been getting power back to the farm yard."

Mr Lea credited firefighters for preventing any more damage to the farm.

He said: "The fire brigade was very quick and they stopped the spread.

"It could have been a heck of a lot worse.

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"It was just one building.

"They managed to contain it.

"We are very lucky."

You can find out more about J Lea & Son Steele Farm via http://www.steelefarm.co.uk/news.html or https://www.facebook.com/steelefarmwhitchurch/