Firefighters tackle large grass fire in east London

Forty fire engines called to blaze on Wanstead Flats as smoke billows over capital

More than 225 firefighters tackled a large grass fire in east London that sent smoke billowing over the capital throughout Sunday afternoon.

The fire began at around 3pm and was still smouldering at 9pm by which time the flames had been extinguished and firefighters were damping down the scorched earth.