UK wildfires: Police say fires that tore through UK during heatwave may have been arson

** Are you in Wennington or anywhere else hit by wildfires? A fire burns the Kiddi Caru nursery in the Walnut Tree area of Milton Keynes down to the ground as blazes take hold of areas across England ‹ Slide me › The fire at Wennington is shown yesterday and the area is also pictured before the blaze A woman is given water and comforted close to the blaze in the village of Wennington, east London, where 100 firefighters are tackling a fire This picture shows homes on fire as a huge heath fire ravages at least three houses near Rotherham, South Yorkshire Fires sparked by lightning at Zennor Head, West Cornwall pictured burning on Tuesday evening Around 100 firefighters are tackling a blaze in the village of Wennington in East London as the heatwave continues People remove gas canisters from Lennards pub as firefighters tackle a blaze in the village of Wennington yesterday afternoon A huge black smoke cloud spreads as round 100 firefighters tackle a blaze in the village of Wennington yesterday afternoon as the heatwave continues Around 100 firefighters are tackling a blaze in the village of Wennington in East London as the heatwave continues A man attempts to damp down the smouldering field with a hose pipe as fire services tackle a large blaze in Wennington The remains of a fire near Dartford Heath on the A2 coastbound, Crayford is seen as smoke spreads throughout the area Firefighters attend a gorse bush fire during the heatwave near Zennor in Cornwall yesterday afternoon Firefighters attend a blaze on Dartford Marshes in Kent after temperatures reached 40C for the first time on record Residents of Yorkshire queued for more than two hours to gain entry into Ilkley Lido The Dartford fire is seen raging yesterday as firefighters rushed to tackle the flames A thunderstorm is seen to rage in Thanet, Kent while a major incident has been declared due to a fire surge near Twickenham Golf Course between Feltham, Teddington, Richmond and Hounslow in West London Firefighters attend a gorse bush fire during the heatwave near Zennor in Cornwall yesterday afternoon A firefighter tackles a grass fire in a park in New Brighton in Merseyside yesterday afternoon amid the heatwave Firefighters attend a gorse bush fire during the heatwave near Zennor in Cornwall yesterday afternoon Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service issued this picture of firefighters attend to a grass fire in Rixton, Warrington The area surrounding Twickenham Golf Course was filled full of smoke as a fire raged and creeped closer to a Shell garage A gorse bush fire during the heatwave near Zennor in Cornwall yesterday afternoon amid the very high temperatures The burnt out remains of parkland in Skellow, Doncaster, yesterday morning after a grass fire came within feet of homes Firefighters rest as they attend a gorse bush fire during a heatwave near Zennor in Cornwall yesterday afternoon The burnt out remains of parkland in Skellow, Doncaster, yesterday morning after a grass fire came within feet of homes Drone footage of the aftermath of a field fire by Cheshunt Park in Hertfordshire pictured yesterday A gorse bush fire during the heatwave near Zennor in Cornwall yesterday afternoon amid the very high temperatures The burnt out remains of parkland in Skellow, Doncaster, yesterday morning after a grass fire came within feet of homes A fire in Upminster, Essex, as the hot weather continues amid a series of extreme weather warnings The burnt out remains of Lickey Hills parkland in Birmingham yesterday morning where fire crews are still on the scene Tinderbox Britain: Where have fires broken out? Fires sparked by lightning at Zennor Head, West Cornwall continue burning into Tuesday evening A man runs along a street with a hosepipe on July 19, 2022 in Wennington, England Some 15 fire engines and 100 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade are dealing with the Wennington blaze Police were called amid concerns over public safety due to people jumping into the river and lighting portable BBQs at River Swales Waterfalls The huge grass blaze has spread to houses in Wennington, East London, yesterday afternoon amid the extreme heat Meanwhile at the Wennington fire, Freya Gutteridge, 23, from nearby Hornchurch - who works in marketing, said: 'I noticed the fire in Wennington when I went to lunch at two and since then our whole office has just been watching - everywhere we look there's a new one. Emergency services fight fires in a row of houses on July 19, 2022 in Wennington as at least five homes have been gutted This picture shows the fire still burning at a home which has been blackened and its roof torn off amid devastating fires In this aerial view, smoke from fires being fought by fire services seen in Wennington as London's firefighters try to battle the infernos Another house was also destroyed in the Wennington fire yesterday afternoon which was seen from above in this Sky News aerial TEN hottest places as old record is obliterated 40.3C Coningsby, Lincs 40.2C Heathrow, London 40.0C Waddington, Lincs 40.0C Humberside 40.0C Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster 39.5C Northolt, London 39.4C Scampton, Lincs 39.3C Woburn, Beds 39.2C Watnall, Notts 39.2C Cranwell, Lincs --- 38.7C Previous UK record Distressed residents could be seen on the phones trying to get information, and villagers were Walter Martin, 61, landlord of the Lennards Arms, a local pup that has escaped the flames for now, said: 'I got a phone call at about 12:50 and I saw a little smoke, I walked around and saw a small fire and then saw it just go up. Woman is seen in a bikini in Battersea Park where people are cooling off amid scorching heat Scorching temperatures in London where people were seen cooling of in the fountain in Battersea Park Two women dip their heads into the fountain to cool off at Trafalgar Square in London yesterday morning amid the extreme heat A packed Brighton beach in East Sussex yesterday afternoon on day two of the red extreme heat warning The surface of the A14 at Bottisham in Cambridgeshire appears to have melted and buckled during the heatwave A group of women walk along the pebbles of Brighton beach as they head to the coast of East Sussex People on the beach in Bournemouth in Dorset yesterday morning as Britons melt on the hottest UK day on record A member of F Company Scots Guards swelters during the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace yesterday The burnt out remains of parkland in Skellow, Doncaster, yesterday morning after a huge grass fire came within feet of homes Around 100 firefighters are tackling a blaze in the village of Wennington yesterday afternoon as the heatwave continues People on the beach in Bournemouth yesterday as temperatures soar across England to record levels A packed Brighton beach in East Sussex yesterday on day two of the red extreme heat warning A young woman in the fountains at Trafalgar Square in London yesterday as the heatwave continues Beachgoers make the best of the scorching morning temperatures at West Bay in Dorset yesterday Peter Dolby jumps into the water at Compton Lock in Winchester yesterday on what is expected to be the hottest day on record Two women lay a towel on the sand at Bournemouth beach yesterday as sunbathers flock to the Dorset coast to enjoy the heat A man and woman sit in the River Dove in Dovedale yesterday during the heatwave as people enjoy the weather in Derbyshire Sunworshippers on Brighton beach yesterday morning on day two of the red extreme heat warning People on the beach in Bournemouth yesterday as temperatures soar across England to record levels Commuters struggle in the extreme heat yesterday morning as they cross London Bridge on the way to work A woman sits by the fountains at Trafalgar Square in London yesterday as Britons experience the hottest UK day on record Commuters struggle in the extreme heat yesterday morning as they cross London Bridge on the way to work yesterday People enjoy the hottest day of year at Stainforth Force in the Yorkshire Dales yesterday as they cool off People flock to the beach and seafront at Southend-on-Sea yesterday morning as an Essex Police officer walks past Cyclist Oonagh Thin, 24 takes a rest to enjoy the sun at Holyrood Park in Edinburgh yesterday morning Australian cabaret and circus troupe Briefs take to the water to attempt to cool themselves during a photocall for 'Bites' outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London yesterday Two women sunbathe on Brighton beach in East Sussex yesterday morning on day two of the red extreme heat warning Racehorses get cooled down at trainer Sue Smith's yard near Bingley in West Yorkshire yesterday morning People enjoy an early morning swim at the Serpentine Lido in London's Hyde Park yesterday A member of the Household Cavalry has a fan placed next to him at Horse Guards Parade in Central London yesterday morning People at Harpur Hill Quarry in Derbyshire - known as 'Blue Lagoon' - on what is the hottest day on record in the UK A horse at Horse Guards Parade in Westminster is given some water to cool down as the heatwave continues Siblings Joshua, Harry and Chloe jump into the water at Compton Lock in Winchester, Hampshire, yesterday morning A member of the Household Cavalry feels the heat at Horse Guards Parade in London yesterday as the heatwave continues The Tarmac on Crook Mill Road in East Halton, North Lincolnshire, is sizzling yesterday due to the heatwave People walk along the sand at Bournemouth beach in Dorset yesterday morning ahead of another very hot day at the seaside Commuters on the sweltering Jubilee line yesterday morning as they commute to work on the London Underground Friends Isaac Pratt and Connie Dolby hold hands as they drift down the river at Compton Lock in Winchester yesterday morning The dried out bed and reduced water levels in the Thruscross Reservoir in North Yorkshire, pictured yesterday morning A woman enjoys the hot weather on a paddleboard at Tynemouth Longsands in North Tyneside yesterday morning People on the beach in Bournemouth yesterday as Britons bake on the hottest UK day on record Police smashed the window of a £25,000 electric Hyundai to save a dog trapped inside in London's Leicester Square The UK has experienced its warmest night on record, according to provisional Met Office figures as shown in this map In the West End, Oxford Circus station was closed yesterday morning while London Fire Brigade crews investigated what they said were 'reports of smoke issuing from an escalator machine room on the northbound Victoria line'.