Walkers capture the dramatic moment fire broke out in Mildenhall Woods yesterday - the hottest day of the year

Walkers called the emergency services yesterday after spotting a fire at Mildenhall Woods off College Heath Road.

One eye witness says she was out walking with her two sons and nephew when they came across the blaze and immediately called the fire service.

“It took fire crews 40 minutes to put it out,” she said.

The cause is not known.

The eye witness said a family member checked to ensure no one was hurt or cut off by the fire.

“When we first found it thought it was maybe a camp fire,” she said, “As you can see it was much bigger than that.”

One local resident who lives on the edge of the woods told a local Facebook forum: “During daylight there is good chance this sort of thing will be discovered. It is really worrying what would happen if it started after all the dog walkers had gone home for the day”.

Another wrote: “Happened to us last year, came across smouldering dirt, no flames, but called 999 anyway. They said always call if in doubt because if it had been left it would have caught fire again and there would have been flames.”