More than 50 fire engines were sent to tackle a bush fire that broke out in the coastal dunes in The Hague on Tuesday evening.

The fire was first reported just before 7pm near the beach beyond the Zuiderstrand tram stop in Duindorp. Fire crews spent three hours bringing the flames under control, hampered by strong winds in the area.

A total of 52 appliances were involved in the response, along with a police helicopter and a drone equipped with a thermal camera to identify hot spots. Crews remained at the scene overnight to keep watch over the site.

Firefighters also worked to ensure the blaze did not spread to a bunker in the dunes that is used to store valuable archive material from the Second World War.

An NL-Alert message was sent out to people living in the surrounding neighbourhoods, including Duindorp and the Vogelwijk.

The fire service has been on high alert for nature fires because of the dry conditions in recent weeks. Firefighters have been called out for the last six days to a succession of blazes in a woodland between Middelbeers and Wintelre, near Eindhoven. The local fire service said it did not rule out arson as a possible cause.