A GRASS fire that threatened to set a house alight has prompted a plea for people to take extra care not to start a catastrophic inferno in the tinder-dry countryside.

The appeal comes from Chobham Commons Preservation Committee following a wildfire last Friday evening that was almost certainly caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette butt.

A patch of dead grass in Little Heath Road, Chobham caught fire at about 11.20pm. The flames spread to the hedge of a house in Brimshot Lane – which was saved from being burned by a resident who poured water on to the blaze using watering cans.

“We have concluded that the fire was started by someone throwing down a cigarette end,” said committee secretary Rob Searle. “The only other explanation is that it was set deliberately, which is surely unlikely.

“Fortunately, a neighbour stopped the flames reaching a tall shrub at the side of the house. If that had caught alight the home’s plastic guttering and fascia boards would have ignited, followed by the roof catching fire.”

Rob said that a glowing cigarette butt will easily set fire to dry vegetation during the current heatwave, even without a breeze to fan it.

“Please, please do not smoke, use any sort of barbecue or light a fire in our countryside. Take note of the terrible wildfires that are raging in the UK and around the world and help stop them happening here.”

A Surrey Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We received a call on Friday 7 August around 11.25pm to a report of a fire on Little Heath Road Chobham. One fire engine was sent.

“A hedge and grass had caught fire, causing six to 10 square metres of damage. The crew left around midnight and the fire was deemed to be of accidental origin.”