200 soccer pitches of UK’s Yorkshire moors destroyed in blaze blamed on barbecue

Nearly 200 hectares (500 acres) of moorland have been destroyed by a huge fire started by a barbecue, the National Trust said on Monday.

Firefighters were still tackling the blaze above the village of Marsden, in West Yorkshire, which began on a day of soaring temperatures on Easter Sunday.

Pictures showed a huge wall of flames as the fire spread rapidly over 200 hectares, equivalent to about 200 football pitches, on Sunday night.

The National Trust, which owns the moorland, said the blaze was believed to have been started by a barbecue at Eastergate, a popular picnic spot.

A spokeswoman for the National Trust said a helicopter had been deployed at a cost of £2,000 an hour to help tackle the blaze on Monday morning.

The Greater Manchester fire and rescue service urged residents around Oldham and Stalybridge to keep windows and doors closed as a precaution, due to heavy clouds of smoke in the area.

The fire service is also tackling a separate moorland fire near Tintwistle, in Derbyshire, with temperatures expected to return to the mid-20s later on Monday.

The Marsden moor fire came 24 hours after a blaze on Ilkley moor in West Yorkshire. Three men, aged 19, 23 and 24, have been arrested in connection with that fire although police have not said whether it is believed to have been started deliberately.

Firefighters had issued a warning not to take barbecues on to the moors this weekend in the unseasonably hot and dry weather.

A National Trust spokeswoman said more than £200,000 worth of habitat restoration work had been lost in the Marsden blaze.

Craig Best, the group’s countryside manager for West Yorkshire, told the Huddersfield Examiner: “We raised a record £2,500 on eggs and plant sales at the weekend when 800 children enjoyed the Easter trail. “This all goes towards moorland conservation, which is extra tragic in view of the blaze at Marsden moor, which is larger than the one at Ilkley moor and is still ongoing.”