MINEHEAD firefighters were called on consecutive days this week to Whitecross Plantation, North Hill, to a blaze thought to have been caused by discarded campfires.

On Monday, crews were called after reports of smoke rising from the plantation, and dealt with a fire in tree roots and stumps. They returned the next day to take over from members of the public who had discovered a further fire and were trying to stop it spreading.

A fire service spokesman said: “Crews had to lay out a total of 400 metres of hose on an incline and used over 9,000 litres of water to bring the burn under control and thoroughly soak the area to stop it re-igniting

“Crews were amazed at the amount of glass, beer cans, rubbish and illegal substance paraphernalia left littered around and did their best to clear up as much rubbish from the scene but with the current Covid 19 risks, these are tasks we would sooner not have to do.”

The spokesman added: “Bottles in direct sunlight can cause fires, unattended campfires can spread easily and peat and tree roots can burn for days.”