Off-road motorbikes 'a risk to moorland wildlife'

National Trust rangers and the police are working to target illegal bikers on Marsden Moor

Wildlife is being put at risk by off-road motorbikes being ridden over a West Yorkshire moorland, the National Trust has said.

The bikes have been seen on Marsden Moor, near Huddersfield, in recent weeks, causing a "huge environmental and financial impact".

The charity said nesting birds and wild mountain hares are easily disturbed by the noise of motorbikes.

It said in "worse case scenarios" the heat from the bikes' exhausts could cause moorland fires.

A fire started deliberately in 2021 caused major damage on the moorland

The charity said the damage caused can "take hundreds of years to undo as vehicle tyres can expose and erode the peat, increasing the risk of flood and leaching carbon into the atmosphere".

Using motorbikes and vehicles on Marsden Moor is illegal and National Trust rangers have joined up with police to target riders flouting the law.

Ian Dowson, area ranger for the National Trust, said: “These incidents have a huge environmental and financial impact and undo the countless volunteer hours and money spent restoring this landscape.”

The charity has also reminded people about the ban on barbecues and campfires on the moor after a number of open fires were found by rangers.

A blaze in February 2019, started by one barbecue, took four days to put out and charred seven sq miles (18 sq km) of the moorland, killing countless wild animals and birds.

Barbecues and fires are banned on the moors all year round to protect the landscape, with anyone breaching the ban liable to face a fine of up to £2,000 or a prison sentence.

In 2022, a man was jailed for 12 months for starting a mile-long fire on the moorland the previous year which cost about £500,000 in damage and emergency resources.

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