Will tourism suffer following devastating Dunwich wildfire?

At its height, more than 100 firefighters were called to the blaze, which has engulfed 150 hectares (371 acres) of land since it began on Wednesday.

Dunwich Heath, run by the National Trust, and the adjacent RSPB Minsmere, where the fire began, have been closed for the foreseeable future.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has also urged people to stay away from the area while the blaze gets fully put out.

Deputy leader of East Suffolk Council, Paul Ashton, said if closures were to become permanent it would be “devastating”.

“As well as it being such a unique place in terms of habitat and the bird species and the attraction that brings, it brings a lot of people to the local area,” he explained.

“I live in a village just down from here.

“Many of the holiday lets and the B&Bs have people going to Minsmere coming to stay, and then they do other things as well.

“But Minsmere’s the thing that brings a lot of people into the area.”

He added: “Does that [fire] discourage people from coming? Obviously I want people to come, there’s still loads of great stuff to see in Suffolk.

“But I think as a council we’re going to need to work very closely with all those organisations and really look to the government to give us a bit of assistance here, because it’s going to cost a bit to get this sorted.”

On Tuesday, a government spokesperson said it was investing nearly £100m into tackling wildfires, which included specialist equipment and training for firefighters.

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