One hectare of grass was destroyed yesterday (Thursday, 6 August) in a fire next to a Heathrow Airport runway, delaying some flights.

The blaze broke out near runway 27L at 5.37am on Thursday, disrupting operations at the UK's busiest airport.

All services were reportedly diverted to a single runway while emergency crews tackled the flames.

The fire was eventually under control by 6.07pm.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson told Nub News: "The London Fire Brigade was called to reports of a fire on an area of grass near a runway at Heathrow Airport.

"Around one hectare of grassland was destroyed by the fire.

"Crews from the Brigade were supported by the airport's fire service as they worked to bring the incident under control."

A Heathrow spokesperson described the incident as a "small grass fire," which was quickly extinguished.

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However, as a precaution, runway 27L was reportedly closed, and operations moved to single-runway operations on 27R.

Operations began to resume later in the evening with runway 27L reopening by 6.45pm.

British Airways flight BA179 to New York's JFK Airport is understood to be the first to have resumed its service.