A FIRE service has urged people to not have bonfires over the weekend after the Met Office warned of the potential for severe wildfires across Sussex.

The national weather service’s Fire Safety Index puts most of Sussex, including Chichester, Lewes, Crawley, Littlehampton and parts of Brighton in the highest rating on Saturday, warning that any fires that break out could be “exceptionally severe”.

The Argus: A Fire Safety Index map of Sussex for Saturday - the red indicates the potential for exceptional fire severityA Fire Safety Index map of Sussex for Saturday - the red indicates the potential for exceptional fire severity

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service encouraged people to stay safe and to avoid open fires, including bonfires, to extinguish cigarettes properly and take litter home, especially glass.

It comes after several wildfires broke out across the county in recent days, including one in the village of Houghton, near Arundel, affecting over 370 acres of crops.

Six fire engines, six off-road vehicles and two water carriers attended the scene yesterday, with crews from Worthing, Littlehampton and Shoreham called to tackle the blaze.

The Argus: A fire ravaged hundreds of acres of land near Arundel yesterdayA fire ravaged hundreds of acres of land near Arundel yesterday

 

A weather warning for extreme heat has been issued by the Met Office for all of Sussex and much of southern England, taking effect from Thursday until the end of the week.

Temperatures are set to hit 30C tomorrow, with the mercury set to rise higher towards the weekend.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Rudman said: “Thanks to persistent high pressure over the UK, temperatures will be rising day-on-day through this week and an Extreme heat warning has been issued.  

“Temperatures are expected to peak at 35C on Friday and Saturday, or even an isolated 36C on Saturday. Elsewhere will see temperatures widely into the high 20s and low 30s Celsius.  

“Coupled with the high daytime temperatures there will be some warm nights, with temperatures expected not to drop below the low 20s Celsius for some areas in the south.” 

The national weather service warned of an increased risk of water safety and fire-related incidents as more people head to coastal areas, lakes and other beauty spots, and of adverse health effects for those vulnerable to the extreme heat.

The latest heatwave follows the driest July on record in Sussex, with both parts of the county seeing rainfall just a fraction of the expected monthly average.