Serious fire at Warrington nature reserve

FIRE crews have appealed for people visiting a nature reserve at Warrington to take more care following a serious fire.
The blaze was at Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve and firefighters responding were challenged with testing conditions.
Because of the location of the incident the crew wasn’t able to get a fire engine close to the fire. They had to set up an extended hose reel jet and water was pumped from an open water source. Specialist wildfire equipment was also used to put the fire out.
Watch Manager Mark Pollard was the incident commander at the scene.
He explained: “This was a testing job and the conditions were draining because of the nature of the land. Fires in areas such as this can be devastating to wildlife, in particular in this location the elusive black-necked grebe.
“The grebe is a ground nesting bird so fires of this nature are very likely to affect their habitat.
“This area, Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve, has several hides used by birdwatchers, twitchers, in and around the location. We believe this fire started because of carelessly discarded smoking materials and would urge everyone to be careful when disposing of such items.”
More information about countryside safety can be found on the Service website: www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/public-safety/campaigns/outdoor-safety/countryside-safety