Black smoke has been seen billowing from fires at a suspected illegal dumping ground that is under investigation.

Two blazes were seen today at Raspberry Hill Park Farm in Iwade near Sittingbourne.

The site is currently under scrutiny from Kent County Council (KCC), Swale council, the Environment Agency (EA), and police.

The joint probe was launched in May last year.

Police closed Raspberry Hill Lane just after 12.50pm to assist firefighters as they extinguished a fire.

Three fire engines were at the scene from just before 11.40am.

Crews had advised for residents to close their windows due to the heavy smoke. The warning is no longer in place.

The service said in an update at 1.30pm: “The earlier advice was issued due to large amounts of smoke coming from a grass fire, which crews believed was caused accidentally after embers spread from an out-of-control bonfire.

“No injuries have been reported.”

Villagers raised their concerns this morning after black smoke was seen coming from the alleged tip at around 11am.

Videos show both the first and second fires. However, the footage does not provide a clear image of what was burning.

One resident, who did not want to give their name, told KentOnline they have reported the fires to the EA, which took place around half a mile from her property.

The 50-year-old, who has lived in Iwade for 15 years, said: “I saw on social media about a fire being seen in the village, so I looked out my window and saw the flames.

“A fire engine turned up around 11.50am but left quickly after as the fire had been put out.

“But then, around 12.10pm a second fire started.”

She added: “There had been a lot of fires where waste was being burned there until around a year ago, but that seemed to stop until today.”

Drone images obtained by KentOnline last year show diggers and dumper trucks moving what appears to be industrial rubble and waste around the area.

KentOnline also compiled satellite images from Google Earth from 2013 to 2023, which shows the scale of the dump site increasing each year.

An EA spokesman said: “A criminal investigation continues in order to bring before the courts more waste criminals using Kent as a dumping ground for waste for profit.

“This is organised crime. Criminals like these take advantage of the public and businesses, who believe them to be removing their waste legitimately.

“They shamelessly dump it at beauty spots like Raspberry Hill, Hoads Wood and others, spoiling the countryside, making it someone else’s problem to clear up – and make money from it.

“We will make sure those responsible will answer for their actions.

“Anyone with new concerns or information relating to suspected waste crime can call our incident hotline on 0800 807060, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Information given to either number will be treated confidentially.”

Three men have been arrested in connection with the probe at Hoads Wood in Ashford, where 35,000 tonnes of illegal waste have been dumped.

Two of the men – aged 44 and 62 – are from the Isle of Sheppey, while the third, aged 41, lives near Sittingbourne.

They were detained in February.