Alert as fire crews fight blazes on parched moors

Swathes of East and South Yorkshire, from Chesterfield up to Scarborough, are officially suffering from drought, with areas around Sheffield, Doncaster, Hull and Driffield affected. But while the rivers Don, Rother, Hull and Derwent are at low levels for the time of year, the Environment Agency said water supplies were unlikely to be affected.

Yorkshire Water said it did not anticipate any restrictions such as hosepipe bans, adding that its reservoirs are at 94 per cent – which is “normal” for this time of year.

However, groundwater levels in East Yorkshire are around a fifth below usual levels.

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said: “Our regional water supply system gives us flexibility, what it doesn’t give us is an unlimited supply of water, so we would always encourage our customers to only use what they need.”

The warnings came as firefighters have been tackling grass fires across the region.

Crews from as far away as Tadcaster and West Yorkshire returned to the hills above Harrogate yesterday to fight a large moor fire for the second day running.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Fire Service said a large number of firefighters were needed “due to the vastness of the moor” and it was burning over three different fronts.

A deliberately-started fire also raged on fields in Grenoside, Sheffield, throughout Wednesday night.

Signs warning people to take extra care to prevent fires are also going up in the Peak District.

A spokesman for the Peak District National Park Authority said yesterday that a lack of rain has dried out the moors in recent weeks, making them especially vulnerable.