Military tasked with stopping Channel boats
to record the firecracker being set off and his girlfriend had carried the recording equipment up the moorland.
Mr Flint said that Riedly had used a shield to protect himself from sparks but soon realised something had gone wrong.
He then used the wooden shield to try and put out the initial fire having failed in his attempts with the water from a bottle - but that too caught alight.
Mr Flint said the couple realised the fire was spreading too quickly and went to ask for help.
Anastasis Tasou, defending, said that Riedly did everything he could to put out the fire including using his own clothing in bid for it to be extinguished.
Speaking following the verdict, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Area Manager Scott Donegan said: “We as a service very much welcome the sentence handed out today and hope it reminds others not to start fires on our moorland.
“Fires like these are the reason we have Public Space Protection Orders banning flammable items like fireworks, barbeques and fires on moorland - they can have a devastating impact on the brilliant spaces we are lucky enough to have in West Yorkshire.”
Recovery work following the fire has already begun, with 65,000 sphagnum moss plugs planted across Marsden Moor over autumn and winter. The moss helps to re-wet the moorland, reducing the risk of future fires. It also helps to restore peat and capture carbon.
THE military will be put in charge of tackling the number of boats crossing the Channel in a move signed off by the Prime Minister.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to take over command of the operation from the Border Force within weeks, according to The Times and Daily Mail.
The department confirmed the Government is exploring “every avenue” to prevent more crossings, while the Home Office said it was introducing “necessary long-term changes”.
More detailed information on how the plan would work is yet to be provided.
Labour accused Boris Johnson of trying to “distract from the total mess he is in” while campaigners branded the plans “cruel and inhumane”.
A spokesman for the MoD said: “Unacceptable numbers of people continue to make the dangerous Channel crossings and last November’s tragic deaths serve as the strongest reminder of the need to stop them.”
More than 450 people have made the dangerous journey across the Channel in small boats so far this year, following a recordbreaking year in 2021 when at least 28,000 arrived in the UK.