Marsden moorland fire: 'Apocalyptic' moorland blaze extinguished

Fire crews have extinguished a huge blaze on moorland in West Yorkshire.

The fire, described by one witness as "apocalyptic", started at about 19:30 GMT on Tuesday and covered about 1.5 sq km of land near Marsden.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said it was "one of the biggest moorland fires we've ever had to deal with".

It came as the UK broke the record for the warmest winter day for a second time and on the same day as a gorse fire on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

Following a night spent tackling the blaze near Saddleworth Moor between Huddersfield and Manchester a fire service spokesperson said: "The fire now looks to be out."

However, they said crews and specialist moorland firefighting units "will remain at the scene for much of the day to tackle any further hot spots".

At its height more than 35 firefighters were in attendance at the National Trust property and the A62 between Colne Valley and Diggle was closed as a precaution.

There have been no reports of any injuries.

Speaking in the early hours of Wednesday incident commander Laura Boocock said: "It is quite dramatic to see but it is nothing we can't deal with."

BBC Yorkshire climate correspondent Paul Hudson said that, like much of the UK, the region had faced unseasonal winter temperatures.

He said: "These kind of temperatures - 18C or 19C - are what you would normally see in early June.

"There's been a prolonged abnormally warm spell and we've also had an exceptionally dry start to 2019.

"The temperature on Wednesday is also set to be pretty similar."

The Edinburgh gorse fire broke out at a similar time on Tuesday, and two large fires started within an hour of each other in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex earlier.