Aerial pictures show blackened fields after 15 fire crews prevent 400-acre blaze from reaching M11 and houses

Firefighters spent more than five hours tackling a 400-acre field fire on Sunday afternoon to prevent it reaching the M11 and nearby houses.

Fifteen crews from the Essex and Cambridgeshire brigades, along with specialist teams, attended the huge blaze at Littlebury, which also damaged a disused building at Great Chesterford railway station and disrupted train services.

Motorists driving on the M11 witnessed billowing smoke, and some witnesses took pictures of a wall of fire as the blaze rapidly took hold in the scorching weather.

With temperatures due to hit a potential record 40C on Monday or Tuesday, firefighters are bracing themselves for similar calls.

Crews were called at 4.04pm to the site off Strethall Road in Littlebury, just north of Audley End House and Gardens.

They encountered a fast-spreading fire and changing wind directions, which made it harder to fight.

Two crews from Harlow, along with others from Stansted, Saffron Walden, Newport, Thaxted and Epping, were joined by two crews from Cambridge and others from Linton, Sawston and Cottenham from neighbouring Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. Two off-road vehicles from Stansted and Chelmsford, Southend's aerial ladder platform and Essex’s urban search and rescue team also joined the operation and were assisted by the farmer.

One driver tweeted: “It was scary driving past it on the M11.”

The crews succeeded in extinguishing the blaze by 9.30pm, but firefighters from Thaxted and Old Harlow stayed on to check the perimeter and building for hotspots.

Crews are returning on Monday morning to carry out further checks.

Station manager Dave Bond said: “It was a fast-moving fire due to the weather conditions and crews worked really hard to protect the M11 and nearby houses.

“Unfortunately, embers set fire to the roof space of an unused two-storey building at Great Chesterford train station. The roof sustained significant damage but crews prevented further damage to the building.

“I’d like to pay tribute to our control officers, who have been extraordinarily busy dealing with calls and managing resources and to our crews, many who have gone from one arduous incident to the next.”

Station manager Kevin Jenner added: “Crews worked exceptionally hard today in extreme conditions - I can't praise them enough for their efforts. I’d also like to thank members of the community for their support, including offering crews additional refreshments.”

It was one of a number of field fires attended by Essex firefighters on Sunday, which included:

• An unsupervised bonfire set a hedgerow alight in Little Waltham at 10.13am. Crews from Chelmsford and Witham extinguished it by 11.07am.
• Trees and shrubland, measuring 60 metres and 60 metres, was alight in Grays at 12.14pm. Crews from Grays and Orsett extinguished it by 1.38pm.
• Three acres of fields and 80 metres of hedgerow alight in Highfield Stile Road, Braintree at 12.33pm. Crews from Halstead and Thaxted extinguished it by 1.06pm.
• Haystack fire in Paglesham, Rochford at 1.16pm. Crews from Southend, Rochford and Wickford in attendance.
• Fire in a field measuring 100 metres by 100 metres in Chadwell St Mary at 1.48pm. Crews from Grays and Basildon extinguished it by 3.03pm.
• Five acres of field alight in Bentfield Bower, Stansted, at 2.54pm. Crews from Stansted, Newport and Saffron Walden extinguished it by 5.27pm.