Marsden Moor: Fire damage in 'hundreds of thousands of pounds'

A moorland fire which burned for three days caused "hundreds of thousands of pounds" of damage, the landowner has said.

More than 100 firefighters and a helicopter tackled the 2 sq-mile (5 sq-km) Marsden Moor blaze at its height.

Landowner The National Trust said it was assessing the loss of "precious habitat" destroyed by flames.

West Yorkshire Police have held voluntary interviews with a man and a woman in relation to the fire.

A file has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision as to whether charges should be brought, a force spokesperson said.

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The fire, near Huddersfield, started on Sunday night amid "tinder-dry" conditions caused by warm weather and turned into a 60-hour operation for firefighters from West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service declared it a "major incident", with the affected land near Black Moss Reservoir and Swellands Reservoir.

Dozens of firefighters spent 60 hours tackling the blaze near Huddersfield

A year-round Public Spaces Protection Order bans bonfires, fireworks and barbecues on the moor, with breaches liable to face a fine of up to £2,000.

Craig Best, National Trust countryside manager, said: "We'd like to thank everyone who worked with the National Trust to bring this fire under control, it's been an incredible effort and our rangers are really grateful.

"At the moment we are assessing the damage to see how much precious habitat has been lost."

A BBC crew found recent evidence of fireworks being set off on the moor, showing the Public Spaces Protection Order was being breached by some visitors

The landowner asked for donations to a Marsden Moor appeal, raising money to help cover repairs to land damaged in both the recent fire and another blaze on the moors in 2019.

"As well as the environmental impact, hundreds of thousands of pounds that we've invested into restoring the moors has been lost," Mr Best added.