Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service declares major incident

The organisation encouraged people to continue using 999 in an emergency, but asked them “not to light any fires, such as campfires or barbecues, and to take extra care when disposing of cigarettes due to the incredibly dry conditions, as a spark could spread quickly”.

Alexandra Webster, the general manager of Sherwood Pines Cafe, said the fire there was on the outskirts of the forest.

“It is not on any of the routes so the site remains fully open for now,” she said.

There have been a number of outdoor fires across Nottinghamshire in the past seven days, including a field fire in Church Warsop on Monday, a fire on 50,000 sq m (12.3 acres) of grass and forest land in Meden Vale on Tuesday, and a fire in Sneinton on Thursday.

They come as an extremely dry spell continues across much of England and Wales, with July being recorded as the driest since Met Office records began 190 years ago.