People would have probably lost their homes in Monday’s grass fire in Dagenham, east London, were it not for the actions of maintenance workers, according to the council leader.
The fire broke out behind Clemence Road, which backs on to Beam Parklands, at about 18:30 BST on Monday. The blaze, which covered about eight hectares (20 acres), was tackled by more than 120 firefighters.
Barking and Dagenham Council leader Dominic Twomey said the fire would have spread to homes if maintenance workers – who he described as “unsung heroes” – had not cut fire breaks into the grass over recent weeks.
London saw four wildfires break out over a 24-hour period from Monday into Tuesday.