Suffolk fire chiefs say the major incident declared at the height of the heatwave has now ended - but, with more dry weather forecast, people are still urged to be fire safety aware.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was called out to a significant number of incidents on Tuesday, July 19, of which 49 were fires in the open.

Some of the incidents involved the service assisting colleagues over the county’s border, with Cambridgeshire and Norfolk also declaring a major incident.

While senior officers say the service is still "exceptionally busy", it is no longer in major incident status following a reduction in call-outs today.

But with the dry weather and high temperatures forecast for the next week – and Latitude Festival taking place at the weekend – residents are still being encouraged to reduce the risk of fire over the coming days.

Chief Fire Officer Jon Lacey said: “The major incident was incredibly challenging for our service and involved our firefighters tackling incidents in extreme temperatures, our control room taking an exceptional number of calls, and our management team working around the clock to ensure that we could continue to attend incidents despite our resources being significantly stretched.

“I’d like to thank all my colleagues, including those working behind the scenes to handle calls or maintain our fire engines. It really has been a team effort and we also extended this further by continuing to support services over the border as part of our partnership working arrangement.

“Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has been humbled by the outpouring of public support that we have received since declaring a major incident, with many Suffolk residents showing their gratitude and appreciation to us. I’d ask that they continue to support us by being fire aware to help ease the demand on our service over the next few days.”

Anyone visiting open spaces should avoid barbecues and dispose of their litter, glass bottles and cigarettes properly to help stop wildfires.

Farmers are also being asked to help reduce the risk of crop and field fires by storing hay and straw properly, with a break between stacks, away from other buildings, especially those housing livestock or containing fuels and chemicals.

Further advice on staying fire safe during the summer months can be found on Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service’s website, with guidance also being shared regularly on their Facebook and Twitter channels.