British farmers fear fire as heatwave creates 'tinderbox'

Wildfire is now an over-riding concern for many farmers, who are taking extra precautions to stop fires spreading as the hot spell continues

"It's like a tinderbox out here," says Lesley Chandler, looking down at parched fields where bleached-out grass struggles through baked, stone-hard earth. "Just a spark could set it all alight."

Chandler farms 200 acres of arable land in Oxfordshire, where there has been virtually no rain for weeks. Pastures that would normally boast grass nearly a foot tall have instead a thin cover of dried-out vegetation.