An arson attack which destroyed more than 100 hay bales at a nature reserve has cost a charity hundreds of pounds.

It happened shortly before 8.30pm last night at Hayle Park Nature Reserve off Fieldfare Drive, Maidstone, when someone set alight the bales, destroying around 120 of them as well as the tarpaulin which had been covering them.

The Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) say it is believed the blaze was started deliberately, with crews arriving at 8.15pm and leaving 70 minutes later.

Hayle Park Nature Reserve Trust chairman Paul Wilby, who is also a councillor (Lib Dem) for the Maidstone South Ward, says the fire has had a psychological impact on him as well as a financial one.

He said: “We probably lost between £500 to £600 of actual produce, including the covers that go over the top.

“We were just lucky that the hay was not near anything else that could catch fire and that the fire service got there so quickly.

“Our insurance alone is almost £800 a year, just for the public liability insurance. It doesn’t sound like a lot but, to a charity like ours, it will have an impact.

“It also has a psychological impact more than anything.

“Me and one of the other trustees spent the whole of our day, essentially, getting all the hay and stacking it all up while giving up our time to look after the reserve, just for someone to burn it and watch it all go up in smoke.

“It is not ideal, to be honest.”

Mr Wilby lives nearby on Fairfield Drive and saw the fire take hold while at home.

He added: “I live within about 300 metres of where the fire was. So when I opened one of my doors, I could smell the smoke.

“Then you could see it coming across through the trees. I went over there and the fire service had just turned up.”

It was another blow for the site, run by volunteers, which cancelled its summer event on Sunday.

As well as putting all profits from hay-making back into the reserve, the practise is also a way of increasing its biodiversity.

“On a Friday, we normally get between five and 12 volunteers. But all of the trustees are all volunteers as well,” Mr Wilby said.

“On Sunday, we should have had our summer event and barbecue but, because of the weather, we decided to cancel it.

“That is not linked to the fire but we lost the money from that event which we are going to try and reschedule for Saturday, September 5. Now, the hay going as well is just an extra insult.

“But it is one of those things. We will pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and go again.”

Messages of support have since come in after the fire, with people pledging to donate, and Mr Wilby added: “We will probably recuperate the costs.

“But the whole idea of the hay sales is that we try to make the hay-making as profitable as possible so we don’t have to rely on people putting their hands in their pocket.

“At the moment, it is hard enough for people as it is.

“We now have partly burnt bits of hay that we need to dispose of. So we now need to find somewhere else where we can let that rot down.

“It is not ideal but that is just the way it goes.”

A KFRS spokesman said: “Kent Fire and Rescue Service was called on Monday, August 9 to reports of multiple hay bales alight near Hayle Park Nature Reserve, in Tovil, Maidstone.

“One fire engine attended and crews used hose reels to extinguish the flames.

“No casualties were reported.

“It’s believed the fire was started deliberately.”

Kent Police say they don’t have any record of the incident at this stage.

To donate to the Hayle Park Nature Reserve, click here.

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