Large area of grassland smoulders after fire near Colchester

People living near grassland that caught fire in extreme heat have tried to extinguish it with buckets of water and garden hoses, external.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service was called to the Wick in Abbot’s Road, near Colchester, and pictures showed crews at the scene and the area still smouldering.

The force called for caution in the dry weather as it tackled numerous blazes over the weekend, including one which at Littlebury, which affected 400 acres of field and a disused building.

Meanwhile eight crews have been at a large blaze at a recycling centre in Braintree, near the A131 at Marks Farm, where about 600 tonnes in clothes caught fire.