Large gorse and tree fire battled on common

Firefighters worked through the night to get the flames at Mill Street Common under control

Firefighters battled through the night to tackle a large fire which engulfed gorse and trees.

Devon and Somerset Fire Service said it was called out to Mill Street Common in Torrington at about 22:35 BST on Tuesday after receiving reports of initial flames from a tree fire having spread to gorse.

The service said 20 people self-evacuated from nearby properties as crews from 16 different stations battled the fire, which covered a 200m (656ft) by 80m (262ft) area of land.

A fire spokesperson said the flames were extinguished by 04:10 on Wednesday with crews revisiting the site later in the morning to dampen down hotspots.

The spokesperson added crews would liaise with National Grid engineers due to potential damage to powerlines at the site.

Devon and Cornwall Police said on X it was called out to assist with the incident and urged people to stay indoors and close their windows during the early hours of Wednesday.

Devon and Somerset Fire Service said the blaze covered an area measuring 200m (656ft) by 80m (262ft)

Kat Rondel, whose home backs onto the common, said she was woken up during the night when the fire broke out.

"All you could see was orange embers everywhere and smoke blowing all over the place," Ms Rondel said.

"We're beyond thankful to the emergency crews because they've been there all night long working hard."