Wildfire unit set up at woods after spate of fires

A dedicated wildfire unit has been set up at a woods in Nottinghamshire following a spate of fires.

Crews from Stapleford and East Leake stations will be at Bramcote Hills park and woods "for the next day or so" after a number of "small woodland fires".

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had logged four incidents at the park in the space of 24 hours, with Nottinghamshire Police "aware".

On Thursday afternoon Stapleford Fire Station said the spread of fire appeared to have been contained, and crews had withdrawn from the area. It added firefighters would return in the evening to monitor the situation.

Visitors have been urged to continue reporting incidents via 999 while crews remain on site with the wildfire unit.

At about 16:10 BST on Wednesday, 17 firefighters from Stapleford, East Leake and Eastwood were called to a 100m by 100m patch of grass and undergrowth on fire.

Beaters were used to put out the flames, and crews found a barbecue nearby.

At 17:55, crews were called to a small barbecue fire at the Bramcote Leisure Centre end of the park, and at 20:35 crews were then called to a patch of grass and undergrowth alight, linked to the earlier incident.

A further call to a fire was made at 07:35 on Thursday morning, near the Coventry Lane entrance to the woods.

A fire service spokesperson added: "The wildfire unit brings with it a 4x4 capability and allows us to get water supplies to incidents faster than ever before.

"Police are aware of these fires and we are ensuring that together we put a stop to them happening."

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