SMOKE could be seen in the skies of Southampton last night after a major fire broke out at a city park.

Firefighters tackled a large blaze on Peartree Green last night, after nearly 50 calls were made to Hampshire Fire and Rescue service.

The fire broke out at the junction of Peartree Avenue and Sea Road at around 9.30pm, sending a large plume of smoke over the area.

Two crews from St Mary's fire station were joined by colleagues from Hightown, Eastleigh and Lyndhurst.

Firefighters spent almost two hours at the scene.

Two hectares of grassland were destroyed.

One man living near the scene said: "The fire broke out in the middle of the green.

"The firefighters couldn't get to it very easily but they put it out after a couple of hours.

"There were flames and a lot of smoke but it blew away from us so we didn't suffer."

The blaze, the latest in a series of grassland fires caused by the tinder-dry conditions, is not thought to have been started deliberately.