Wildfire warning as warm weather continues

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue is urging people not to use disposable barbecues

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has issued a warning after seeing a "sharp spike" in the number of calls to outdoor fires.

The service said it was called to 153 incidents in June compared with 384 incidents for the whole of the summer period in 2024.

Officials urged people not to use disposable barbecues, make sure cigarettes are fully extinguished and disposed of, and not to light bonfires.

Amanda Matson, head of community fire prevention, said: "Most outdoor fires are caused accidentally, and that's why it's so important to avoid taking risks."

She added: "Lincolnshire's suffered from some extremely dry conditions which has seen a sharp spike in outdoor fires we've attended.

"Grass almost acts like a tinderbox – any heat source can cause fires that are more likely to get out of control and spread rapidly.

"These fires don't start big, but the dry conditions mean they grow into large scale incidents and often taking days to extinguish."

The Global Wildfire Information System said 29,200 hectares (292 sq km or 113 sq miles) of the UK has been burnt by wildfires so far this year.

The figure is higher than the total for any year in more than a decade.

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