FIRE crews in Bordon are bracing themselves for a busy summer. The number of call-outs has risen by 100 per cent, compared with the same period last year.

By Wednesday, the retained firefighters at the Conde Way fire station had already dealt with about 50 fire calls in June.

In the same month last year, the crews were called to just 20 incidents.

Crews from around the Bordon area have been so busy that fire cover has had to come from as far away as Southampton.

Sub officer John Pratt predicted the spate of grass and heathland fires would continue for as long as the hot weather lasted.

The hot weather over the past week has meant the Conde Way firefighters have been on call-outs across the area.

Sub officer Pratt said the Bordon crews have been called to Broxhead, Liss, Greatham Oakhanger, Longmoor, Bordon and Whitehill.

The Bordon water carrier has even been called out to help at fires across the county border in West Sussex.

On Tuesday, the retained firefighters were called to a fire behind the Greatham pumping station in Liss Forest.

Sub officer Pratt said the fire took three to four hours to deal with because the undergrowth was tinder dry.

Crews from Alton were sent to cover the Conde Way fire station, but were diverted to deal with a fire on the edge of the Longmoor Ranges in Liphook Road.

To cover Bordon, a pump from Petersfield was sent, but this too was diverted to tackle the Liphook Road blaze.

Cover for the area was eventually provided by a pump from the High Town fire station in Southampton.

Appliances from Grayshott, Liphook, Alton and Petersfield were sent to Tuesday evening's blaze on Longmoor Ranges, as well as Land Rovers from Alton and Petersfield .

Police closed Liphook Road from the new Whitehill roundabout to the Walldown Road because thick smoke was drifting across the road.

Whitehill traffic officer Pc Mike Batten said: "The road was closed straight away. I would imagine that the flames were about 30 to 40 feet high and they were being whipped by the wind."

Pc Batten said there was concern at one point that fire would actually jump the road because of the strong wind. "We don't know how it started," he said.

The fire was declared out by Alton sub officer John Peters at 8-30 pm, but Bordon fire crews returned to the scene during the night and on Wednesday morning to deal with hot spots.

Sub officer John Pratt said: "The public should be vigilant when they are walking through the countryside because everything is very dry at the moment."