Fire crews called out to battle moorland blaze

ANOTHER wildfire broke out on Saddleworth Moor.

The moorland between Diggle and Marsden was well alight for the second time this year.

Six crews were called to the scene near the old Great Western pub on Manchester Road at about 6.40pm on Thursday.

They spent about an hour battling the flames, which were spread across a 100m x 200m area of moorland.

It comes after firefighters spent 12 hours battling a huge blaze which broke out just a quarter of a mile away on February 26.

James Bailey, a firefighter with Slaithwaite Fire Station in West Yorkshire, said: “The blaze covered a large area perhaps 100m x 200m of moorland and was around a quarter of a mile away from the last one.

“It was heading in a straight line down the valley towards Marsden in south westerly direction.

“It’s unclear how the fire began. It’s quite damp underground and it’s just the heather that has been affected.

”There were four appliances from Meltham, Slaithwaite, Skelmanthorpe and Holmfirth attending along with two wildfire units from Todmorden and Holmfirth and two more units from the Greater Manchester area.”

A Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 6.40pm. Two crews and a wildfire unit are in attendance. The fire measures around 100 metres wide”