Moors may take years to recover

Natural habitats and wildlife damaged by wildfires raging in the hot dry conditions will take years to recover, experts have warned.

Burning peat on moorlands above Manchester and Bolton may also have released hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide, contributing to atmospheric pollution.

Fire crews are battling fires in Tameside, east of Manchester, for a second week, and a similar blaze on Winter Hill, near Bolton.

Prof Chris Evans, from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), suggested that if the peat burned down to four inches (10cm) deep across the reportedly affected area of 6,400 acres (2,600 hectares), it could already have released around half a million tons of carbon dioxide.

Russ Hedley, from the Woodland Trust, said: “The habitat will take years to recover, with the scars lasting a long time.”