THE cause of a grass fire in an allotment and surrounding land is under investigation.

Firefighters were called to the plot in Billet Road Road, Walthamstow, at 5.45pm yesterday (July 5).

The fire, which was under control by 6.40pm, damaged one acre of land, three outbuildings and fencing.

A woman was treated for the effects of smoke inhalation.

Richard Squire, London Fire Brigade’s Borough Commander for Waltham Forest, said: “With the hot weather set to continue we’re bracing ourselves for a surge in the number of grass fires like the one we had yesterday in Walthamstow. It’s extremely frustrating for the fire service because these fires are easily preventable.

“If you’re disposing of a cigarette or barbecue, please do so carefully. In this hot weather a small spark can spread like wildfire and cause devastation.

“Grass fires can be extremely time consuming. Just the other day 20 firefighters spent around 18 hours at the scene of one in Kingston. It may well have been caused by someone carelessly dropping a cigarette butt.

“When firefighters are tackling these fires, they aren’t available to attend other emergencies or do vital community safety work and training”.

“Please don’t throw cigarettes out of car windows, they can easily cause fires on grass verges – you’d be amazed how quickly these fires can spread”. Another common cause is glass bottles which can concentrate the suns rays onto dry grass and shrubbery.”

The number of grass fires across the capital rose by over 30% from May to June this year. There have been 44 grass fires across Waltham Forest so far this year.