Fire crews dealing with second fire at beauty spot

A fire has broken out for the second time in three days on Ministry of Defence land in Colchester.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said about 30 firefighters returned to Middlewick Ranges in Mersea Road after being called at 14:20 BST.

About 50 firefighters tackled a blaze there on Friday.

The site is used for Army training exercises but also has public footpaths and is a woodland home to nightingales, fungi and digger wasps, among other wildlife.

"If you live nearby, please keep your windows and doors closed due to the smoke," said a spokesperson.

"Please also avoid the area so our crews can work to get access to the incident, use hydrants and keep everyone safe."

The initial fire at Middlewick Ranges on Friday left the earth scorched [Reuters]

According to the Essex Wildlife Trust, the Middlewick Ranges covers about 76 hectares (equivalent to about 106 football pitches).

Tens of hectares of rare acid grassland are found at the site.

Acid grassland is a type of natural dry grassland that grows on low fertility, sandy and gravelly soils, similar to lowland heath.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service says it has experienced one of its busiest periods in four years.

In the week to Thursday, its control team received 2,029 emergency 999 calls, resulting in firefighters being mobilised to 570 separate incidents.

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