Forty firefighters battled a vast field fire in a desperate effort to make sure the flames didn't spread to nearby homes.

The fire started at about 4pm on Friday and quickly took hold of the bone dry field on Dollyman's Farm, Benfleet.

Plumes of smoke were sent high into the sky and wafted across the A130 and A127 creating dangerous rush-hour driving conditions.

Eight fire engines raced to the scene and set about tackling the blaze which firefighters said covered almost 30 acres of the field.

Fire crews ordered the use of a farmers plough to create a fire break and stop it from spreading further towards houses.

And several firefighters battled for more than two hours stopping the flames getting near properties.

Sub-officer Steve McQueen, of Hadleigh Fire Station, told how the volume of fire crews helped avert a potential disaster.

He said: "Field fires are quite common at this time of year, but this was a particularly bad one.

"Because we had fire engines there we were able to make sure it didn't spread, and while there was a lot of smoke the fire didn't get near to any houses."

Published Monday August 9, 2004

Brought to you by the Evening Echo