Warning over moorland blazes as weather warms up

More than 100 firefighters battled "aggressive" moorland fires at Winter Hill almost seven years ago

A county fire service has issued a warning as it said it was "especially vulnerable" to moorland fires amid the dry weather.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) is urging people not to use disposable barbecues or have open fires in moorland areas which can cause "devastating" damage to habitats and wildlife.

It comes after more than 100 firefighters battled "aggressive" wildfires at Winter Hill in Lancashire in 2018 in what was declared a major incident.

Caroline Harrison from LFRS said lessons had been learned and it was "better prepared" since the fires which ripped through 7 sq miles (18 sq km) of land.

Mrs Harrison, a group manager for LFRS, told BBC Radio Lancashire it had made "significant investment" into resources both in training and in additional equipment.

However, she said preventative measures were the best course of action to stop the fires happening in the first place and appealed for people to act responsible in the countryside.

"There is a lot of dry grass now on the moors so [fires] spread quickly across the moorland and causing a lot of problems for the habitat... and for the landowners," she said.

She said disposable barbecues and open fires were some of the "primary risks" to starting moorland fires.

Mrs Harrison also said not extinguishing cigarettes properly and glass bottles had also been cited as being the cause of wildfires.

She said "We are not asking people not to enjoy our countryside.

"We are just asking people to enjoy it safely and try not to impact on the habitat around them."