Bonfire warning after large grass fire

Firefighters spent almost an hour bringing the fire under control

People have been advised not to start bonfires during the hot, dry weather, after firefighters had to be called to a large grass fire.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said an area of waste grassland 60m by 60m (197ft by 197ft) was affected at Spoonley near Market Drayton.

The service was called at 13:38 BST on Tuesday and said it took almost an hour to put the blaze out.

It was believed to have been caused by a bonfire left unattended, a spokesperson said.

The fire service said there was a danger the Spoonley fire could have spread to a nearby hedgerow and the task of bringing it under control was made more difficult by the lack of a local water supply.

It asked people to notify it of any controlled fires and said they should be attended at all times with water or other firefighting equipment to hand.

Later the same day, firefighters were called to another incident on the Carding Mill Valley near Church Stretton, which involved gorse and undergrowth and took two hours to put out.