Cigarette thrown from passing vehicle sparks grass fire on A45 near Northampton

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to a fire on the embankment of the A45, close to the Queen Eleanor Roundabout in Northampton today (July 21).

Crews from Mereway and The Mounts arrived on scene shortly after 4pm, and used hose reel jets to extinguish the flames, which had spread across 30m x 5m of grass and shrubbery.

Highways closed one lane of the A45 eastbound while the Fire Service dealt with the incident.

After extinguishing the fire, crews monitored temperatures using thermal imaging cameras and returned to their stations once the scene was safe shortly before 4.30pm.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a cigarette that was thrown from the window of a passing vehicle, according to NFRS.