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The Prime Minister has admitted he has got 'a long way to go' to 'build back trust' with the farming community

Andy Burnham has been branded "totally out of touch" after pledging a £65million boost to the farming industry after suffering the driest July on record.

Speaking to GB News, arable and livestock farmer Colin Rayner declared that the move by the Prime Minister was "too late", and he has "no confidence" in him.

After holding a Cobra meeting this week, the PM has announced £65million in funding for drought and extreme heat issues that are taking toll on British crops and livestock.

The new package follows the driest July on record in England and Wales, and will help farms cope now and invest in measures including reservoirs to protect against future droughts.

Casting doubt over Mr Burnham's efforts, Mr Rayner told GB News: "The Prime Minister is totally out of touch. A lot of the reason we have these wildfires out of control is because of the environmentalists.

"In my father's time, we used to do controlled burning on our farms to stop fire spreading, and because the environmentalists now want us to plant a 10-metre grass strip around all our fields, this makes every household in the country vulnerable, because we've now got tinderbox grass next to people's houses."

Mr Rayner revealed that his farm suffered "three major fires" just yesterday alone.

He explained: "We had three major fires yesterday on areas that shouldn't have caught fire if we could still control the burning on our farm.

"And this £65million he's offering us, I doubt if any of us will see it because they will have 1,000 strings attached to it. Even if you built a reservoir, the Environment Agency wouldn't give you a licence to fill it, so I have no confidence in our Prime Minister."

Criticising the Government's national alert which was sent out across the nation on Friday, Mr Rayner warned that it may result in "more fires", as people will "want to be on the news" for starting blazes.

He told GB News: "We didn't need that notice yesterday. The persons setting fire to the countryside are not going to listen to a text, that's going to only encourage them.

"So I think that message yesterday will spark more fires because people want to be on TikTok, they want to be on the news."

The farmer continued: "But all my neighbours are fantastic people, we had three fires yesterday on our farm in Windsor and I was notified by residents and the fire brigade came out and dealt with them."

Mr Rayner urged the Government to conduct more "joined up thinking" between them and the farming industry to help tackle these issues.

He said: "There needs to be a national strategy between farmers - we have tens of thousands of vacuum tankers that can help in the time of emergency - but there's no joined up thinking.

"I'm just disappointed in Government. Too late, out of touch, don't care about the common man."

Detailing the £65million boost for farmers, Mr Burnham said he has got "a long way to go" to "build back trust" with the farming community.

He said: "Within my first month of office, I wanted to be on a farm, hearing about the reality and how difficult it's been, particularly in this summer.

"I think it's probably been the hardest summer for British farming in a generation. So many challenges for those in arable farming, livestock farming, doing a mixture of the two, on every front they can see challenges.

"So it's really important that I'm here and I'm listening and announcing some help in these difficult times."