A farming couple say they will be 'forever grateful' for the hero farmers who jumped to their rescue and helped stop a wildfire threatening their home.Phil Monkman and wife Abi believe they were just minutes away from 'game over' after a blaze came terrifyingly close to the North Yorkshire farm where they live with their two daughters.Their experience echoes that of two hero farmers who were hailed for putting their lives at risk to stop flames reaching a housing estate in the Woodthorpe area of York on Sunday afternoon. In the case of the Monkman family, the incident began as a small wildfire a few fields away but within a short while had engulfed swathes of dry land, with thick black smoke swirling around the house and farm buildings.Phil's father and a contractor attempted to create a firebreak - a gap in the vegetation to stop the flames - with their combine harvesters, but were swiftly outpaced by the sheer speed of the inferno. The fire, which broke out near Malton on July 9 amid the UK's third official heatwave, prompted Abi to issue an urgent plea on social media for other local farmers to help them.She wrote: 'Is there anyone who can please come to ours and pull a plow to sort a fire break? Putting it on for the fire brigade. As many as possible!! Please share and please please help,' she wrote in desperation.The couple later posted again to report they had been 'really blown away' by the support they received, adding: Without everybody rallying together, we have no doubt that we would have lost our home'. Phil Monkman and wife Abi believe they were just minutes away from 'game over' after a blaze came terrifying close to the North Yorkshire farm where they live with their two daughters Abi Monkman, pictured with her husband Phil, issued an urgent plea on social media for other local farmers to help save their home from the incoming inferno A picture posted by Abi after the blaze shows the extent of the fire and the land left scorched