By Hayley Robinson

Firefighters had to deal with two corn field fires within hours of each other.

Six fire engines, two of which were from Sittingbourne station, were called to the first blaze in Blacketts Road, Tonge, just before 2pm on Friday, July 30.

Firefighters from Sittingbourne, Faversham, Rainham, Sheppey and Gillingham spent an hour at the scene.

A Sittingbourne fire crew was then called to Bramblefield Lane, Kemsley, at 3.20pm, where they spent 15 minutes putting out another fire.

The cause of the fires are unknown but neither is being treated as suspicious.

A third corn field fire occurred in Stickfast Lane, Bobbing, in the early hours of Wednesday, August 4.

Two fire engines from Sittingbourne attended, and the fire was out within 12 minutes.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service is urging people during the hot summer to be extra careful not to start or cause fires through carelessness.

A few days of warm weather can dry out vegetation and grass verges, so crop fields and woodland can easily catch light if people are careless with cigarettes or do not extinguish fires or barbecues properly.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s head of community safety, Stuart Skilton, said: "During warmer weather, grass and crop fires can be a serious problem for the service and tie up a huge amount of our valuable firefighting resources.

"We want to encourage people to take care and think about what they’re doing.

"For example, drivers should refrain from discarding cigarettes through car windows
while driving along as this, combined with dry grass verges,
can easily lead to fires and threaten people, wildlife and buildings.

"Another major problem for us is young people deliberately setting fires so, if you are a parent, we urge you to warn them of the dangers of fire, as well as keeping matches and lighters out of their reach."