'It spread like wildfire': Streetly resident tells of horror as garden blaze tears through several properties

The fire on Coppice View Way was reported at around 6.30pm on Thursday evening, with four fire crews dispatched to the scene to bring the blaze under control.

Motorists and residents were urged to avoid the area where possible to allow emergency crews to carry out their work safely and to minimise disruption.

The incident left several gardens burnt out and blackened, with fences and sheds severely damaged, although the fire service were able to stop the fire from spreading to houses.

The resident, who asked not to be named, spoke about what he had seen happen and how shocked he had been.

He said: “I was sat in my living room at around 6.30pm when I looked out of my window and saw that embers from a fire nearby had landed on my shed and then, essentially, it spread like wildfire because everything’s just really dry.

“I was very alarmed because of where this could have gone and it could have spread to the houses, but the fire service were really quick and got around the back of the house.

“It managed to spread across about eight gardens, mostly I think because of the weather, but it still could have been a lot worse.”

The resident said he had lost the contents of his shed, which included garden tools, children’s toys and a trampoline, as well as seeing some mature hedges and trees burned and a lot of blackened and burned ground, but was thankful it wasn’t any worse.

He said: “It doesn’t look good, but nobody has been hurt and nothing sentimental has gone, just the stuff needed to run a house.”

West Midlands Fire Service have been contacted for a comment.