FIVE piglets have died in a fire at an agricultural college.
The animals were being reared on part of Bishop Burton College's grounds.
The fire caused damage to the inside of their sty but the sow survived the blaze.
A Humberside Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said crews were called to the site in York Road, Bishop Burton, just before midnight on Friday.
He said: "The pigpen measuring 4m by 2m was on fire.
"It was an accidental ignition and five piglets died."
The cause of the blaze is believed to have been an electrical fault.
It is not yet clear whether the problem lies with the lighting or the heating system but the power has been disconnected.
The fire service spokesman said: "There is no investigator assigned to it as the cause of the fire was accidental."
Staff and students at the college have been left shocked.
There is relief that the fire was quickly contained and did not spread to any other areas, cause any more damage or threaten any human life.
A college spokesman said: "It's very sad but given what could have been this was a very small incident.
"The fire was cause by an electrical fault and it was confined to one unit.
"It could have been either the heating or the lighting system and, as a precaution, the electrics have been disconnected.
"The sow managed to be saved."
In some small-scale farming operations the animals are given names and treated almost as part of a family.
That is not the case at Bishop Burton where the animals are viewed as any other farm stock.
The college spokesman said: "It's a working farm where the students learn hands-on."
Bishop Burton College principal Jeanette Dawson OBE has declined to comment on the fire.
The college has long had an enviable reputation for providing excellent standards of animal husbandry. In 2011 staff and students were rewarded for the caring way they treat their animals.
The college's farm celebrated winning the prestigious Leadership In Pig Welfare Award.
It is the top accolade of its kind in Europe and is awarded by Compassion In World Farming.
Dominic Naylor, farm manager at the time, said he was delighted the college was being held up as an example of best practice in pig farming.
The pig industry is associated with intensive agriculture, but the college's unit has broken the mould to demonstrate commitment to high welfare rearing methods.
Bishop Burton's sows have the freedom to have their piglets outdoors in special huts in a maternity village.
Young pigs are reared and fattened indoors on straw beds and do not have their tails docked – a practice used in some "factory" farms.
Staff and students have done a lot of work on group housing of pigs and the best ways for sows to have their piglets.
