Creswell: Residents allowed home after 'major incident' fire

Residents of about 50 properties have been allowed to return home after a large fire in a nearby field prompted an evacuation.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was alerted to the blaze in Creswell just after 15:00 BST on Friday.

A total of 16 appliances - including 12 fire engines - went to the scene and a major incident was declared.

The fire service said the blaze had now been fully extinguished but the cause remained unknown.

Residents of Fox Lane, Firthwood Lane and Elmton Close were allowed to return home at about 19:30 on Friday.

All roads that were closed have since reopened, apart from Wood Lane.

Darren Perrott, from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the blaze affected both farmland and woodland.

"Following a fire investigation, the exact cause of the fire at Creswell remains unknown.

"At the present time we are dealing with exceptional circumstances with heat and dry conditions meaning the risk of fire is highly likely.

"As evidenced at this incident, a fire can escalate rapidly impacting not only on our communities, but also on our emergency resources.

"We continue to repeat our warnings for people to take extra care during the heatwave," he said.

It is one of several field and grass fires the service has dealt with in recent weeks.

Over 100 firefighters were involved in tackling a fire at Win Hill Edge near Ladybower Reservoir last month.

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