Crews tackle three field fires in one day

Crews from across Essex spent most of Friday dealing with three large field fires

Fire crews from 19 stations tackled three large field fires in one day across a county.

Essex Fire Service said on Friday it attended blazes in Grays, Rayleigh and Witham.

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of arson over the fire near Amersham Court, Rayleigh, and remained in custody, Essex Police said.

At the time of the incident some roads were temporarily closed in the area and smoke was seen blowing over the A129 and A1245.

Essex fire service said in Grays a farmer used his tractor to create a fire break

At 09:53 BST the service was called to reports that 37 acres (15 hectares) of standing crop was alight in Stifford Clays, Grays.

At 15:38 it was called to a seven-acre (three hectares) fire on Amersham Court, Rayleigh, where one outbuilding was damaged.

Crews were later called to Conrad Road, Witham, at 17:21, to put out a 74-acre (30 hectares) field fire.

All three fires were put out, the fire service confirmed.

Group manager Marc Diggory said crews in Rayleigh "worked hard to extinguish the fire and stop it from spreading to nearby properties".

He confirmed it spread to one outbuilding but no-one was injured.

Essex Police said its investigation was "in the early stages".

It appealed for anyone with information, CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward.

The fire service said the "sunny and dry weather" was increasing the risk of wildfires

The recent warm weather had increased the risk of wildfires, the fire service said.

It asked that people reduce the risk of further incidents by stubbing out cigarettes and disposing of them properly.

It also asked people to avoid lighting campfires or barbecues in the countryside.

"If you do, make sure they are fully extinguished before you dispose of them," the service said.

"Never leave barbecues or bonfires unattended and discard your rubbish, especially glass bottles, responsibly."