Quick thinking gas workers saved thousands of pounds worth of crops when they used a large tank of water strapped to a tractor to put out a fire.

Strood firefighters were called to the incident in Lower Higham Road at 12.30pm on Friday.

But by the time they arrived the fire, which had started on a grass verge close to a corn field, had already been put out.

The contractors were working on a new gas line just a few feet away when they noticed the fire.

White watch manager Marc Rosier praised the contractors for their actions.

He said: "They stopped the fire from spreading to the corn saving the farmer thousands of pounds worth of damaged crops and us a major headache.

"When corn is lit the heads explode like popcorn which then leads to other pieces of corn igniting so you get a very fast moving fire through the field which would have been a nightmare to tackle.

"This particular field was about the size of four football pitches.

"The fire was most likely started by a discarded cigarette butt thrown from a car window.

"People must be careful in these dry conditions.

"Even a discarded glass bottle can cause a fire as it acts as a magnifying glass.

"I don't know how many men were there or who they work for but they certainly deserve a pat on the back and recognition for what they did."