Spate of grass fires

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service faced one of their busiest shifts of the year last night following a spate of fires involving rubbish or grass, including incidents in Rochdale and Middleton.

There were more than 400 calls from midnight to midnight - the only night busier in the last 12 months has been Bonfire Night.

The peak times were between 5pm and 9pm.

Watch Manager John McKay said: "It was non-stop due to the sheer volume of calls. We were constantly busy for around three to four hours and the vast majority of calls have been about grass fires or rubbish set alight."

Around three quarters of all the calls received were reports of fire in the open, topping off a busy weekend for the Control room.

Good weather together with the end of the Easter school holidays meant more people were outside enjoying themselves - but with it came careless, and in some cases anti-social, behaviour which led to fires.

Trees, grass, scrubland, bracken and bins were all damaged as a result of small fires in the open.

Among the calls were reports of grass fires started by youths playing with matches or lighters including Leigh, Oldham, Heywood, Wigan, New Moston, Rochdale, Stockport, Failsworth, Swinton, Radcliffe, Farnworth, Altrincham, Salford, Blackley, Middleton and Bury.

By following some simple advice the public can help protect the countryside for everyone's enjoyment, and prevent it from being damaged:

• Don't play with matches
• Be extra careful when discarding cigarettes or matches or anything else that may cause a fire in vegetation
• Be especially careful if you're having a barbeque; make sure you extinguish the coals completely before you discard them - in a proper bin or container
• Don't be tempted to have an open fire in the countryside - small fires quickly get out of control and can cause widespread devastation.