Large straw fire in Harlow

Firefighters were called to reports of a fire in Foster Street, near Harlow on Sunday evening.

On arrival, crews confirmed that a large amount of straw, covering an area around 60 metres by 30 metres, was completely alight.

Crews worked hard to get the fire surrounded and prevent it from spreading further. Control teams received a large amount of calls to the incident, with the fire visible from the nearby M11 - if you notice the fire or smoke in the area, please don't be concerned.

At 6.50pm, firefighters reported that good progress was being made and that the fire was under control. However, due to the material involved, crews advised that this was likely to be a protracted incident and they expected to be at the scene for some time.

Three new crews took over at 8pm.

By 9.30pm, two crews remained at the scene.

As of 8.30am on Sunday morning, two crews were continuing to manage a safe and controlled burn of the straw.

Two new crews took over at 11am. At 1pm, the straw was continuing to burn out safely.

One crew remained at the scene at 5.30pm on Sunday.

The straw will burn under the watch of crews throughout Sunday evening - firefighters will only leave the scene once the area has fully cooled.

The cause of the fire will then be established once the site is safe.