Fire warning as Shropshire land turns to ‘tinder box’

Malcolm Stevenson, spokesman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, advised people to pick up their litter and avoid lighting camp fires in the more rural areas such as Carding Mill Valley and the Long Mynd.

He said: “In a nutshell, Shropshire is like many counties – a bit of a tinder box frankly. Everybody knows it’s been a long time since we’ve had any rain at all.

"In Shropshire, particularly south Shropshire, with areas like the Long Mynd and Carding Mill Valley that are all open grass lane and dry, it doesn’t take very much at all for a fire to break out.

“The important thing to say is that their beauty attracts lots and lots of visitors, particularly when the weather is this beautiful, and we wouldn’t want to stop anyone but the message is to please be extra careful and be vigilant, especially if you’re going out and having a picnic, even a broken bottle can cause a fire, make sure you clean up after yourself.

“It goes without saying if you’re in the area then please don’t be tempted to light a camp fire or start a barbecue, it’s so dangerous at present.”

Just last week a county beauty spot was hit by a large woodland blaze, which required seven fire crews to tackle the fire.

“We had a very very big fire that involved 50 firefighters at The Bog near Minsterley and we still don’t know how that began but it shows how quickly they can spread,” said Mr Stevenson.

“We don’t want a Saddleworth Moor here if we can help it.

“The weather looks pretty solid for the next few weeks so that risk isn’t going away, if anything it’s heightened.

“The public so far have been very very good, the fires that have occurred are unfortunate but it could’ve been worse.

“Heatwaves like this always seem to attract arsonists, one or two big fires have been started deliberately. It’s not only reckless but against the law.”