A fire started up in an ancient woodland spot in Colchester.

Fire engines were called to Bullock Wood, behind Evergreen Drive, at around 3.15pm on Sunday.

On arrival they found an area of trees and shrubs, measuring around 50sqm, was alight.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze by 4.35pm.

One resident who witnessed the smoke said: “At first we thought it might be a barbecue but we released the smoke was coming from the wood.

“We called 999 and were told fire crews were on their way.

“We couldn’t see any flames but there was lots of smoke and firefighters are now trying to locate the fire.”

Crews could not determine a definitive cause of the fire.

Here is a video of smoke rising from the trees captured in the area: