FIRE crews were called to an address in Maldon yesterday after a bonfire caused a large grass fire.

Firefighters from Maldon, Chelmsford and Witham were called to scene in Northey Island, Maldon at around 10.50am on Saturday 8 August.

An off-road vehicle from Burnham was also required to put out the fire.

Embers from a nearby bonfire spread to straw and started a wild blaze.

Four crews were sent to extinguish the fire due to difficult access and to pump water from the open water.

Crews confirmed that approximately 300m of straw was alight.

It took firefighters around two and half hours to put the fire out with the fire extinguish by 1:23pm.

Firefighters remained at the scene throughout the day to monitor hotspots.

Station Manager Dan Kirk said: “Crews worked really hard under hot conditions to extinguish the fire.

“In this hot weather, the ground is incredibly dry and it can take just a spark to set fire to grass.

"Consider if you need to have a bonfire in this weather and if you do, never leave it unattended and keep a water supply close by.”