Police have given more details on the fire started by youths in Bushy Park on Wednesday evening.

Royal Parks Police dealt with the incident which happened in the Woodland Gardens at 6pm on March 24.

They confirmed in a statement today that ten 16-year-old boys were gathered around an open fire in the Woodland Gardens.

Officers on the scene put the fire out and issued the youths with anti-social behaviour (ASB) warning notices, before ejecting the group from the park.

Bushy Park is a nature reserve and is a crime to light a fire or have a barbecue there.

Nub News spoke to Teddington resident Donna Pridham who along with her husband was the first to see the fire.

Pridham said the pair heard noises and saw smoke at around 5.30pm while on a walk near the Pheasantry in the gardens.

Fortunately a park ranger was nearby and she was able to call police to the scene.

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Pridham described the actions of the boys as "so irresponsible."

She said they were lucky it wasn't the dry summer season when the fire could easily have spread and endangered wildlife in the surrounding area.

The Woodland Gardens is a wildlife sanctuary currently home to a pair of nesting herons and several goslings.

Volunteer Park Ranger Cathy Cooper thanked Donna on social media for reporting the fire.

"In the past, simple campfires like this have caused trees to catch alight and often there are birds nesting in them," she said.

"As a ranger, we take this very seriously."