More than 40 firefighters tackle woodland blaze

More than 40 firefighters have worked through the night to tackle a woodland fire in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

At 5.45pm yesterday (5 June), we received reports of smoke and flames coming from a wooded area in Swynnerton Old Park, near to Stableford.

By 6pm, eight crews had been sent to the scene. The fire was continuing to spread and reached an area of up to 100 meters by 250 meters.

Crews used beaters, hose reel jets and a specialist wildfire hose to contain the blaze and stop it from spreading.

Once the fire had been surrounded, a number of crews were stood down and made available for other incidents across the county.

By 8.30pm, the fire had been fully brought under control and no one was reported injured.

Crews are still in the area today (6 June) to make sure there are no hotspots left and smouldering bracken is made safe.

Station Manager Liam Hickey, who attended the incident, said: “Multiple crews have worked for long hours in challenging conditions to contain this fire and stop it from getting out of control.

“There are still a large number of burnt trees which are not stable in the area and we are reminding people to avoid the area where possible whilst we work alongside the Forestry Commission to make the area safe.

“An investigation into the cause of the fire will be completed in due course.”