FIRECREWS from Ashburton, Buckfasleigh, and Bovey Tracey tackled fire in the open near Ashburton early yesterday evening (Saturday, April 13).

The three-pump shout at just after 5pm saw the combined crews dealing with a large grass fire which had spread to the adjacent hedgerows.

A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue service said: ‘ On arrival the officer in charge had the Ashburton crew work on one side of the hedge to prevent spread to nearby thatch properties and the Buckfastleigh and Bovey Tracey crews work the other side to extinguish the field and hedgerow.’

After three hours of exhaustive work the incident was declared closed, although a crew returned to the scene at 9pm to check for hotspots.