Ashdown Forest fire: Huge blaze breaks out forest which inspired Hundred Acre Wood in Winnie the Pooh

Firefighters have been tackling a blaze near woods featured in AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories.

An area of up to 50 acres of Ashdown Forest in east Sussex was affected after gorse and undergrowth caught fire.

Ashdown Forest inspired the Hundred Acre Wood in AA Milne’s stories.

Andrew Gausden, from the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said the fire destroyed a valley area near Duddleswell,

“This seems to have caught hold before people noticed the fire.

“The undergrowth was very dry in the forest, despite the recent rain, and the fire caught quite quickly.

“We had numerous calls, including from the police who have a training centre nearby.”

He said the fire was not thought to have been started deliberately.