Renewed warnings after Grotton grass fire

The fire scene close to Old Kiln Lane in Grotton last night

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have issued yet another appeal to members of the public who live near or visited moorland surrounding Saddleworth after they had to battle another huge grass fire.

The recent increased temperatures have left conditions perfect on moorland and grassland surrounding Oldham for a large-scale fire to be started and in recent weeks crews have had to deal with a number of incidents.

Now they’ve issued another appeal for people to be careful after they spent hours tackling a blaze on Old Kiln Lane in Grotton last night (Wednesday) which kept firefighters at the scene well into the early hours of this morning.

A fire spokesperson said the blaze appeared to have been started deliberately and they’ve begun an investigation into the cause.

The spokesperson said: “We are dealing with grass fires, it means our resources are depleted across Greater Manchester.

"The grass and shrubbery up there is very dry and with the strong winds it burns like tinder.”

The warning comes after a string of fires near Dovestone Reservoir in recent weeks which has left the landscape burnt.