Flames were visible across Canterbury as three separate grass fires burned fiercely on Monday evening.

Crews from Canterbury, Chilham, Wingham and Whitstable were called out to the blazes near the city’s Howe Barracks around 7.45pm. The cause appears to be deliberate.

Six appliances were originally called out, but one from Whitstable and another from Faversham were immediately stood down.

Matt Deadman, white watch manager at Canterbury Fire Station, explained the windy conditions helped bring the fires under control.

He said: "The wind did spread the fire quite rapidly, but it also helped burn one of the blazes out.

"On arrival, we discovered three separate seats of fire, spread across quite a large area. We used hose reel jets to extinguish the fire, which quickly took hold through the grass.

"We suspect it was started deliberately as it’s not particularly hot at this time of year."

Crews had the fires under control by 8.20pm and all pumps were stood down 30 minutes later.