Grass fires at a large Green Flag park are being treated as suspicious, the fire service has confirmed.

The blazes started yesterday evening in the Great Lines Heritage Park, which connects Gillingham and Chatham historic sites.

Crews attended in two fire engines at 8.30pm and they put the fires out using a hose reel jet and beaters. They left the scene at 9pm.

Nobody was injured, but Kent Fire and Rescue Service said the cause is being treated as suspicious.

One witness, Ryan Lingham, said the flames could “no doubt be seen from most of” Chatham.

Ryan and his partner, who live in Whitehorse Hill, regularly take walks in the park and spotted the smoke on their evening stroll yesterday.

He said: “We had just gone out for our evening walk and were none the wiser until we saw the smoke as we approached the path, then we saw the flames and I called the fire brigade right away around 8.30pm.

“From where the blaze was you can see most of Chatham and into Rochester so for the size of the blaze I have no doubt it could be seen from across most of the town.

“It looked like the fires had been started deliberately as there were two at the same time but not close enough to each other at all to be caused by the other.

“There were also straight lines from where the fire had started all the way along the edge of the wall.”