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Large grass fire at airstrip burns 37 acres

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service A drone shot showing charred grasslands near runways at an airstrip. A small plane is parked on the right.Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
About 37 acres (15 hectares) of grassland was alight at the airstrip, which is to the east of Southend-on-Sea

A large grass fire at an airstrip has burnt about 37 acres (15 hectares) of land.

Essex Fire Service was called to the site at Barling Magna, near Southend, at 14:17 BST on Tuesday - and had put it out by 20:00.

About 37 acres of grassland was alight, with six crews tackling the flames at the height of the incident.

Firefighters returned overnight and in the morning to check for hotspots and carry out damping down.

The service said an investigation would take place to establish the cause of the fire, near Little Wakering Creek.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service A firefighter stands in a burnt field holding a shovel, with a fire engine nearby. The sky is partly cloudy, and the landscape in the background shows more burnt areas.Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
Crews from Leigh, Shoeburyness, Southend, Rayleigh Weir, and Rochford were among those on the scene
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service A firefighter stands on a scorched field beside a fire engine, behind him is a blue tipper truck and other firefighters. Smoke is rising from the horizon.Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
Fire crews from the Southend area's stations were joined by a water bowser from Corringham and an off road vehicle from Chelmsford

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