ANIMAL rights activists have claimed responsibility for a firebomb attack, which caused £250,000 of damage to lorries at an egg farm in Standlake.

An anonymous cell, acting for the Animal Liberation Front, has said it set fire to six lorries, packed with eggs, at Deans Foods, Cotswold Farm, on the Lakeside industrial estate.

Activists claim they used sophisticated electronic devices, for the first time in the UK, to detonate the bombs, while miles away.

Residents heard explosions and called firefighters shortly before 11pm on Saturday, October 28.

More than 50 firefighters attended, and managed to prevent the lorry fires spreading to nearby warehouses, containing thousands of hens.

But the six lorries, all containing eggs, were badly damaged or destroyed.

In a posting on the ALF's Bite Back, website, activists wrote: "A new cell of volunteers visited Deans Farm, near Witney, where tens of thousands of hens are kept in battery cages.

"These new devices are incredibly powerful, and all six lorries were completely destroyed.

"This action is dedicated to the memory of Barry Horne and to all animal rights prisoners."

At the time, police did not rule out linking the arson with animal rights groups.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police, Adam Fisher, said this week: "We are aware that animal rights activists have claimed responsibility for this, and our inquiries are continuing. So far, no arrests have yet been made."

No one from Deans Foods was available for comment.