Grass fire damages Bowness Common nature reserve

A nature reserve in Cumbria has been damaged by a large grass fire.

Fire crews were called to Bowness Common on the Solway in the early hours where about 500 hectares of grass and gorse were alight.

Six appliances attended the scene, along with two wildfire teams and an English Heritage four-wheel drive vehicle.

The fire was extinguished using beaters and portable high-performance hand pumps carried in backpacks.

Bowness Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and one of the UK's best preserved lowland peat bogs.