The large grass fire on Wanstead Flats is still smouldering but over 225 firefighters have beaten down the flames and are now damping down the earth.

At the height of the fire, over 100 hectares of grass was alight and smoke drifted across busy roads, causing local road closures.

London Fire Brigade Group Manager Rob Davies who was at the scene said:

“This was a large grass fire and while Wanstead flats is an area of grass land, crews had to work very quickly to stop it from spreading. Smoke was making conditions very difficult for firefighters and causing a lot of disruption to local roads.

“Grass fires can embed into the ground and so while it is now smouldering, crews will be there into the night to keep damping down the earth. It can take a long time to properly stamp out a grass fire and while we expect to have crews at the scene for some time, we will reduce the levels of crews and equipment which will also help get roads moving again.

“We have attended over 20 grass fires this month as the hot weather has made the ground especially dry.

“If you see a grass fire, don’t attempt to put it out yourself as grass fires can travel very quickly and change direction without warning. Call the fire Brigade and let us know where the fire is.”

London Fire Brigade’s 999 control officers received over 110 calls about the fire which was visible for miles.

Wanstead flats is a large area of grass land.

40 fire engines from stations including Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Hainault fire stations were at the scene.

The Brigade was called at 1605 and expect to be damping down for a number of hours. The cause of the fire is not known.