Firefighters battle to keep blaze under control at Winnie-the-Pooh's Ashdown Forest

  • Video shows the scale of the blaze on Sunday night

Fire crews are continuing to control a blaze that broke out at Ashdown Forest, which provided the inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh's fictional home.

Firefighters were called at 9.30pm on Sunday with six hectares of the forest ablaze in the Kingstanding area of Sussex.

Around 30 firefighters from Kent and West Sussex helped to tackle the flames, which tore through the undergrowth in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The forest was famously re-imagined by author AA Milne as Hundred Acre Wood in the series of children's classics.

Six fire engines were called to the scene on Sunday night. Credit: Eddie Mitchell

East Sussex Fire and Rescue say the fire "has been brought under control" and operations have been scaled back to two fire engines and two Land Rovers.

Crews are expected to remain at the scene throughout Monday morning to monitor the fire.

Andrew Gausden, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: "It's unusual to have a fire of this size at night.

"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."

The fire is not thought to have been started deliberately.

Ashdown Forest caught fire in a similar incident back in February amid unseasonably dry conditions.

AA Milne's country home at Cotchford Farm, Hartfield, was located just north of the forest.