Blaze near mobile home site 'not arson'

Firefighters from four fire stations spend five hours battling Burghfield Common blaze

ARSON has been ruled out as the cause of a woodland and grass fire, battled for around five hours by firefighters from four fire stations in Burghfield Common near a mobile home site on Saturday (April 9).

Crews from Mortimer, Dee Road, Whitely Wood, Pangbourne and Tadley were called at 3.52pm to Brocas Plantation, Padworth Road, an established travellers' site.

A 4x4 vehicle was also sent from Maidenhead.

Firefighters used back packs of water and beaters to tackle the fire, which was re-inspected by firefighters at 9pm and the incident was deemed closed at 9.15pm.

No-one was hurt during the fire, although it destroyed around 30 per cent of the site, measuring a total 80m x 200m.

The cause of the blaze was initially thought to be suspicious, but this has since been ruled out by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

A spokeswoman for the service, Nicole Targett, has confirmed that no further investigations are being made.