A "horrendous" blaze that left a much-loved east Suffolk common devastated is suspected to be arson, police say.
Dozens of fire crews were called to Knodishall common shortly before 8pm on Sunday. A total of 17 appliances were dispatched to the scene from across Suffolk, with crews still on the scene on Monday.
Homes were evacuated, with some villagers sent to the village hall for several hours, and the power to around half of the village homes was cut off.
A Suffolk police spokesman later confirmed officers suspect the fire was started deliberately and are appealing for witnesses.
Liz Hayward, common fire watch officer at Knodishall Parish Council, lives around 200 yards from the blaze and was evacuated by police.
She said: "It stopped in the best place, really. It missed our house and the other houses on the Commons.
"It was very warm at times.
"You could feel it getting closer. One minute it was a little fire and the next minute it had jumped across the dirt track and it was like 'okay, let's go'."
Ms Hayward fled her home, sending her children to friends in Leiston and went to the village hall with her husband.
She added: "I don't think we could have asked for a better result than to have nobody injured and no one lost their house or anything else."
Nigel Black, assistant common officer at Knodishall Parish Council, said: "It was horrendous. Thankfully the fire never got that near any of the buildings – it must've been nearly 50 yards away, but you could actually feel the heat.
"I was worried about everything – everybody knows everybody in the village. And it was rather frightening the speed at which it went as well."
Mr Black said this was not the first time a fire had occurred on the common.
"We had a fire there three or four years ago which did quite a lot of damage," he said. "Some youngsters had a barbecue and the mistake they made was to chuck the disposable barbecue in the bushes as they thought it was out, but it wasn't.
"We had the fire brigade out then, but it was just a silly accident."
Malcolm Smith, a parish councillor, said flames from the fire were "30 to 40 feet tall" at points.
"There were hundreds of people," he said. "Police had evacuated lots of residents and they were asking people to move down Snape Road away from the wind direction."
Mr Smith said he was concerned about the possibility of more fires.
"It's very worrying," he said. "Everywhere is so dry, I walk across my lawn and it is like walking across a packet of cornflakes. And we're near the coast where it is often quite breezy, so just a small spark and it is going to catch."
He added he believed fire lanterns and disposable barbecues should be banned "completely" to cut down the risk of fires.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service have issued numerous fire warnings this summer, and crews were also called to field fires in Honington, Burgate and Ipswich's Gippeswyk Park over the weekend.
In Essex, crews were called to a fire in Sible Hedingham where 100 acres of land and a large stack of bales were alight.
With little rain forecast until the end of the week, Essex police, crime and fire commissioner Roger Hirst is warning of major fire risks while “everything is still tinder dry”.
During the two days when temperature records were broken with highs of around 40C the service received over 750 calls and responded to well over 350 incidents, he added.
Anyone with information related to the Knodishall fire is urged to contact Suffolk police, quoting crime reference number 37/47244/22.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here