Derbyshire moorland fire destroying habitats

The habitats of breeding birds and wildlife have been destroyed in a moorland fire raging for five days.

The fire at Rakes Moss, near Crowden in Derbyshire's Peak District, is still burning having started on Thursday.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said in a post on Friday it had already destroyed about £40,000 worth of its restoration work.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews were working in "challenging conditions" to fight the fire.

An RSPB spokeswoman said staff are working with firefighters to fight the blaze.

Although the RSPB said "it is too early to say what the ecological damage will be", in a blog post the organisation said: "The fire has burned an area of 2-3 square km.

"This will affect a wide range of breeding birds and other wildlife such as curlews, golden plovers, meadow pipits and mountain hares."

Station manager Colin Winterbottom said firefighters returned to Rakes Moss at 6:00 BST, having left the moor last overnight for their safety.

"Moorland fires are complex incidents, with deep seated fires often burning underground, several feet beyond the fire front.

"We hope that our actions will continue to contain the spread of fire, protecting the ecosystem and wildlife and that the weather will be kind to us and bring some much needed rain."

The fire service said an investigation into the cause is ongoing.

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