Park officials fear further moors fires

More than 35 firefighters battled for 17 hours to contain flames which spread across nearly seven-and-a-half acres of moorland in North Yorkshire.

The fire near Fylingthorpe in the North York Moors National Park was eventually brought under control by fire crews at about 4.15pm yesterday.

The alarm had been raised at 11pm on Easter Monday.

A spokeswoman for the North York Moors National Park Authority stressed that while temperatures had dipped considerably since the mini-heatwave over the Easter weekend, the danger of more fires remained yesterday.

Officials warned last week that one of the driest Aprils on record had left “tinderbox conditions” in the North York National Park.

There are worries that the thousands of visitors who will descend on the National Park over the forthcoming four-day weekend resulting from the royal wedding coinciding with the May Day bank holiday could spark another blaze unless they remain aware of the dangers.

Yesterday, the National Park authority spokeswoman added: “While temperatures have cooled considerably, we still have not had any major rainfall and the risk of fire remains extremely high.

“We would urge anyone who is visiting the national park to be vigilant and not light fires or discard cigarettes in the countryside.”