by Keyan Milanian

Around 25 firefighters were called to a blaze in scrubland in Gillingham.

Both pumps from Medway, as well as a vehicle from Sittingbourne, Gillingham and Rainham were at the scene at sewage works at the junction of Lower Rainham Road and Motney Hill, just before 5pm Friday.

About three hectares of wasteland were affected by the fire and some hay bales also caught light.

A spokesman for Medway's white watch said: "It was a deep seated fire and the wind was quite strong so it was blowing the fire off the ground. Fires like that unfortunately take a lot of man power to deal with.

"The crew did what they could until it got dark because the area was quite dangerous with a number of rabbit burrows."

Crews used three hose reels, beaters, a hydrant and a water shuttle to tackle the blaze. The spokesman said it was unclear how the fire started.

A similar incident was reported on Wednesday evening in the same area so it is believed Friday's fire may have been reignited by strong winds.

Crews were due to return to the scene on Saturday to check there were no further fires.

No damage was caused to property in the area and there were no injuries reported.

The land is believed to belong to Southern Water.