Farmers help tackle Sixteen Foot wildfire near Christchurch

The incident on the Sixteen Foot between the Padgetts Farm and Upwell Road junctions sent flames and smoke billowing, but it was quickly brought under control.

Posting on the Christchurch Community Facebook page, parish council chair Andrew Sparrow, praised the efforts of those involved in tackling the blaze.

He said: "A big thank you to all the farmers and emergency services who attended and brought the wildfires on the banks of the Sixteen Foot under control this afternoon.

"Thanks to quick thinking, teamwork and community spirit, the fires between Upwell Road and Padgetts Farm were brought under control quickly. Thankfully, the wind was blowing away from the village.

"Today’s events are a reminder of how dry conditions are and how fragile standing crops and the livelihoods of our farming communities can be.

"On behalf of the parish council, thank you to everyone who helped today."

He added that, thankfully, the crop had been harvested over the weekend, which limited the amount of damage.

Cllr Sparrow also said that had the wind been blowing in another direction, it could have been a "different story" for villagers.

A Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: "Control was alerted at 12.58pm this afternoon to a fire in the open on Sixteen Foot Bank.

 "A crew from Chatteris, the north roaming fire engine and the water carrier from Ramsey attended the incident.

"Firefighters arrived to find around 200 metres of grass verge well alight. Working with farmers, they extinguished the fire and returned to their stations by 3.30pm.

"The cause of the fire was accidental."