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Crews tackle washed-up wood fire Crews tackle washed-up wood fire
(about 1 hour later)
A vast quantity of timber which washed ashore on a West Sussex beach last month is ablaze, the fire service said. Firefighters have managed to contain a large fire in wood that was washed ashore on a West Sussex beach.
Some 40 firefighters are tackling the blaze which is threatening nearby beach huts on the seafront at Worthing, said a West Sussex Fire service spokesman. Some 40 firefighters were tackling the blaze at Worthing among timber from a cargo spillage in the English Channel.
There had been fears the fire would spread through the timber and threaten nearby beach huts.
But earlier measures by the council to break the timber into smaller piles means the fire was contained to a single wood pile.
Gary Towson, from West Sussex Fire Service, told the BBC: "The council at a very early stage - when they were rescuing it [the timber] from the beach - broke it up into smaller piles just to prevent, you know, one huge bonfire on Worthing seafront.
"But it does appear unfortunately that there's one pile well alight, but they've managed to stop it spreading to all the others."
Beaches along the Sussex coast from Ferring to Hastings were littered with 2,000 tonnes of timber when the Ice Prince ship sank off Dorset in January.Beaches along the Sussex coast from Ferring to Hastings were littered with 2,000 tonnes of timber when the Ice Prince ship sank off Dorset in January.
Worthing was the worst affected, with wood covering large areas of the beach.Worthing was the worst affected, with wood covering large areas of the beach.
The fire service spokesman said the blaze would take some time to tackle. He refused to speculate on how it had started.