A 70-year-old tried to stamp out the first flames of the Suffolk wildfire after an afternoon swim before it went "up like a torch". Charlotte Du Cann said she was walking back from swimming at Dunwich beach when she heard a "crackle" and her friend smelt smoke. Failing to stamp out the flames, Ms Du Cann called emergency services, providing coordinates for where the fire was. Describing the original fire, Ms Du Cann said: "It was quite low with the heather, but it was furious. The fire spread from RSPB Minsmere to the neighbouring National Trust site Dunwich Heath and has left the area "unrecognisable".