A huge blaze in Little Marlow that spread to industrial units and destroyed 30 acres of fields and crops managed to “jump” across a busy dual carriageway due to prevailing winds.

Bucks Fire and Rescue has revealed more information about the massive fire they were faced with – as a poignant picture sent in by Bucks Free Press reader Chris Bailey showed how the heroes battled against the flames.

At the height of the fire yesterday afternoon in Pump Lane South, there were 20 pumping fire engines, a high-volume pump, seven officers, the Incident Command Unit, the British Red Cross Fire and Emergency Support Service and Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's drone.

Thames Valley Fire Control Service received the first of around 90 panicked calls to the fire near Wyevale Garden Centre shortly after 4pm.

The first crews to attend, from High Wycombe Fire Station, were faced with a blaze involving about 10 acres of standing and cut crops.

Due to the prevailing winds, the fire spread to a group of industrial units and badly damaged a house, and also managed to “jump” the A404, resulting in another fire starting near homes in Marlow.

Twenty members of the public were treated and discharged on scene for suspected smoke inhalation, with one person being taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

Describing the events after they arrived at the scene, Group Commander Steve Wells, from Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: "The incident commander deployed crews to prevent the fire from spreading and shortly afterwards sent a priority message for four more fire engines.

"In order to mitigate the rate at which the fire was developing, crews started the process of creating fire breaks.

“However, as the incident developed further, additional resources were requested and at 5pm the incident commander sent the message ‘make pumps 20’.

“To bring the incident safely under control, three separate sectors were established with crews needing to deploy more than 10 firefighting jets, with water supplies provided via a water relay.

“Due to the effective intervention of the attending crews, further fire spread was prevented, resulting in no damage being sustained to either the garden centre or properties on the outskirts of Marlow."

Although an investigation has been started to establish the cause of the fire, early indications suggest it was not deliberate, the fire service says.

Crews finally left the scene around 4pm today – 24 hours after the first 999 call was made.

Steve added: "There remains a severe risk of further fires of this nature. We are urging people to take extra care, particularly with bonfires, barbecues and cigarettes, to avoid the risk of starting an outdoor fire during the hot, dry weather."