A pre-school in south-east London has been left badly damaged by a fire that spread from nearby grassland.
Children and staff were evacuated from Twixus Childcare Centre in Sandy Lane, Orpington, as the fire approached the site on Wednesday afternoon.
Around 80 firefighters in 12 fire engines were scrambled to the scene shortly after 4pm.
The fire burned through around two hectares of grass in surrounding fields - an area about the size of two-and-a-half football pitches - and engulfed part of the nursery.
Half of three external buildings belonging to the preschool were damaged, along with part of the roof of the main school building, according to the London Fire Brigade.
There were no reports of any injuries.
The family-run nursery - which also provides after-school and holiday clubs for school-age children - has been forced to close following the fire, and staff are unsure when it will be able to reopen.
“Staff and children [were] evacuated to a separate location before fire hit the boundaries of our nursery,” said a Twixus Childcare Centre spokesperson in a statement.
“Fire continued to come in on the nursery building causing fire damage.
“Our setting is now too damaged to operate and parents have been informed that we are closed.”
They added that fire inspectors and police remained at the site on Thursday, adding that authorities “have said it was caused by a grass fire and high winds so no suspicion of foul play”.
Firefighters spent around three-and-a-half hours tackling the blaze on Wednesday, which was under control by around 7.30pm.
“All children were evacuated safely and moved to a different location - parents were emailed straight away and collected,” said preschool managers.
They praised staff for their “amazing” handling of the situation, adding: “The children were not aware of the fire.”
LFB Station Commander Stephen Irvine said: “A grass fire near the childcare centre spread, causing classrooms close by to catch alight.
“The fire was producing heavy smoke and we urged people in the local area to keep their windows and doors closed until it subsided.
“There were road closures in place causing heavy traffic, so we asked people to avoid the area if possible, whilst we made the scene safe.”
LFB said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
