Stalybridge moor fire: Large blaze tackled by crews

Firefighters have tackled a large blaze which broke out on moorland in Greater Manchester.

An area at the top of a hill near Stalybridge was reported to be ablaze at about 21:05 GMT.

Greater Manchester Fire Service said its crews used “specialist moorland firefighting equipment” to bring the blaze under control.

At 23:10, a spokesperson said the fire was out and crews would be “scaling down our involvement at the scene”.

They added: “Our firefighters, from Ashton, Stalybridge, Oldham, Hyde and Bolton North, used specialist moorland firefighting equipment to bring the blaze, which measured 100m squared, under control and extinguish it.”

In June and July last year, firefighters from 20 different brigades were drafted in to help tackle the two huge moorland fires which burnt for several weeks.

Firefighters spent more than a month battling a huge fire covering 18km sq (6.9 sq miles) at Winter Hill, near Bolton.

The Army had to be drafted in to help Greater Manchester crews deal with a blaze at Saddleworth Moor in Tameside, 30 miles away from Winter Hill.

South Yorkshire crews fought 1,227 wild and grass fires during an exceptionally dry and hot May to July period, about triple the usual number.

The Lancashire brigade dealt with 535 blazes in the same period, up from 175 last year.