HARD-NOSED firefighters put out a pile of horse dung that had caught light in the sun.

Crews from Hatfield and Potters Bar were called to a set of stables in Blue Bridge Road, Brookmans Park, after a dung heap self-combusted at around 12.45pm on Wednesday afternoon last week.

The smelly smokestack was pulled apart by firefighters and hosed down.

Hatfield Fire Station watch commander Steve Duncan said: “Dung heaps generate their own heat and can catch fire. There was also some hay which caught light. We had a ton of dung on fire.

“We get all the good jobs!”