ANIMAL sanctuary bosses fear a campfire may have caused a marshland blaze.

Fire crews from Clacton, Wivenhoe, Brightlingsea and Frinton were called to the Howlands marshland site, next to St Osyth Creek, at about 1.45pm on Sunday.

The Pinzgauer all-terrain vehicle from Billericay was also called to help tackle the blaze, which took more than seven hours to extinguish.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the blaze has been undetermined.

But Carol Jacobs, founder of Greenland Grove Animal Sanctuary, which is based on the opposite side of the creek, said people had been camping at the spot shortly before the fire started and she believed it looked as if a campfire had got out of control.

“There are often people camping over there and there had been a camp there the night before,” she said.

“During the morning, they packed up and left.

“In the afternoon, we noticed there appeared to be what looked like a campfire that was getting out of hand.

“I went into the caravan to ring the fire brigade and by the time I got into it I could see flames going up the bushes.

“It is really hard to access the site, they probably had to go through the St Osyth Priory grounds to get there.

“By the time fire crews got there it was huge and the fire was crackling and hissing. It was frightening and it moved very quickly.

“Our animals are on the other side of the creek and didn’t take any notice, but it was hard for us to watch thinking of the wildlife that must have perished.”

A spokesman for the fire service said that on arrival crews found a strip of marshland, which measured about 650 metres by five metres, completely alight.

“Firefighters worked through the afternoon to stop the fire spreading and then section it into parts to tackle it,” he said.

“The cause of the fire is undetermined.”

He added the fire took some time to tackle because it was difficult access the site and because of the amount of water needed.