Suffolk farmer despairs at 'awful' wildfire as 'out of control' blaze tears through heath: 'Painful to watch'

A Suffolk farmer has told GB News that footage of the large wildfire is "painful to watch" as the blaze tears through the scenic and "untouched" Dunwich Heath.

Speaking to the People's Channel, farmer and conservationist William Kendall said the scale and severity of the incident is "awful".

Shortly after 5.30pm on Wednesday, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was called to the first reports of the wildfire at Dunwich Heath.

The fire currently covers around 100 hectares, with 18 fire engines and supporting resources at the scene.

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Firefighters are continuing their efforts to contain the fire in challenging conditions.

Reacting to the blaze, Mr Kendall told GB News: "I'm about five miles from Dunwich, so I'm not in the thick of it. I drove around the edge of it last night without realising it was happening, and it was pretty eerie seeing the smoke.

"It was a glorious evening, but the smoke had sort of dulled out the sun, but it's obviously got a lot worse."

Mr Kendall stressed that the land on the heath is "one of the most pristine areas of Britain".

He said: "It's a wild coast, it's full of wildlife, but it's already being invaded by energy schemes, and so people are feeling sort of under pressure. But this is one of the last sort of areas that hasn't been desecrated by trying to build nuclear power stations.

"And so anything any damage is tragic. It is just one of the most beautiful parts of Britain, and so it's it's painful to watch it happening, but it's kind of inevitable."

Asked whether people are prone to littering in the area, Mr Kendall said although many "respect" the heath, it is "entirely possible" that a barbecue could have been taken there or litter may have started the blaze.

He explained: "This part of Suffolk, it's hugely respected by most people for its wildlife and who knows what caused it, but you know, people taking barbecues at this time of year, it's perfectly possible.

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"And it's really stupid, it puts people's lives and puts wildlife lives at risk. There are birds and things that have got wings that can get away from this, but there's a whole load of very threatened species that live in this heathland and they can't get out of it, so it's potentially tragic."

Mr Kendall concluded that as a local farmer and lover of wildlife, it is "awful" to watch the fire unfold on such a dramatic scale.

He said: "It's awful. This is a sort of untouched part of Britain, so this is just another blow, but obviously it's a much bigger blow to wildlife.

"We haven't got much of it left in the UK, so I'm feeling particularly sad about it. Nobody seems to really know what's going on at the moment, but we all know what fire does and it's not good."

The wildfire is currently "not affecting operations at Sizewell B power station", an EDF spokesman said.

The energy supplier said they are "closely monitoring the situation" as crews continued to battle a fire at Dunwich Heath on Thursday.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement: "Crews from Leiston attended the scene and were met with what is a large-scale, wind-driven forestry fire.

"The incident has subsequently been upgraded to a major incident. We currently have approximately 90 firefighters on scene working incredibly hard in arduous conditions to bring this fire under control."

Residents and visitors are asked to stay away from the area to allow emergency services to carry out their work safely and effectively.

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