Careless barbecues on Marsden Moor lead to three callouts for crews over February weekend

On Sunday crews from Slaithwaite attended a barbecue lit by a group in a campervan next to moorland on Mount Road, Marsden, a barbecue on New Hey Road in Scammonden, and a third barbecue incident at Brun Clough car park.

Wildfire Lead Officer Richard Hawley said: “As the days get longer and we all get to enjoy some long-awaited sunshine, we want to stress the seriousness and importance of the public spaces protection orders in place in rural districts across the region which include a ban on moorland fires, BBQs or fireworks.

“When our crews are called to these completely avoidable incidents, there is not only a high financial cost, but they are taken away from protecting our communities in other areas.”

Public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) in place in rural districts across the region include a ban on moorland fires, BBQs or fireworks.

It comes nearly a year after a man caused more than £500,000 of damage and destroyed wildlife habitats when he set fire to the moor as he carried out an “experiment” with a firecracker.

In January Viktor Riedly was locked up for 12 months after Leeds Crown Court was told how 285 hectares was devastated by his “act of gross and crass recklessness”.

The court heard Riedly caused the blaze last April 25 as he carried out an “experiment” with a device he had created for letting fireworks off remotely.

Recovery work following the fire has begun, with 65,000 sphagnum moss plugs planted across the moor over autumn and winter.

Most of the planting has been done by volunteers, including local schoolchildren.