A HUGE blaze swept across Hounslow Heath this week as firefighters told how the heatwave is turning Hounslow into a tinderbox.

An area of the nature reserve the size of two football pitches was badly scorched in the blaze on Monday – one of dozens of grass fires across the borough over the last week and a half.

Firefighters were called to the blaze in the heath’s eastern edge at 2.30pm and spent more than an hour tackling the fierce flames.

It was the 25th grass fire attended by staff from Feltham fire station in just seven days and while heavy rainfall on Tuesday offered some relief, with the current spell of warm weather forecast to continue, the problem is not likely to go away soon.

Peter Molloy, green watch manager at Feltham fire station, said most of the fires, including Monday’s, are believed to have been started deliberately but some may be the result of discarded cigarettes or empty bottles magnifying the sun’s rays.

He urged people to take extreme care on grassland and, in particular, to avoid smoking, lighting barbecues or leaving bottles behind.

Chiswick fire station said on Tuesday it had been called to extinguish three small grass fires in the past week – all in Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve.

Over at Osterley Park there are several signs up warning visitors not to throw cigarette butts on to the grass as it is so dry it will ignite in an instant. Barbecues are also banned.

London Fire Brigade this week said it was attending an average of 29 grass fires a day across the capital.

Hounslow Heath was devastated by a huge fire in 2003.

In 2007, firefighters on mountain bikes began patrolling the heath and other parts of Hounslow on the lookout for potential fire hazards like abandoned cars and cardboard boxes. The initiative was hailed with significantly helping reduce arson in the borough.