Fire fighters battle huge moorland blaze near Combe Martin

Fire fighters have been working throughout the night to put out a raging wildfire on moorland near Combe Martin.

Crews from Combe Martin, Ilfracombe and Barnstaple were called out to the Holdstone Down beauty spot on Exmoor just after 9pm on Tuesday (March 18).

They found a well-developed fire burning on two fronts and immediately called for more assistance, with fire appliances sent from Bideford, Woolacombe, Braunton and Lynton, plus all-terrain vehicles from Lynton and Porlock.

Above: The moorland fire stretches across a hilltop at Holdstone Down near Combe Martin. Credit: Nathan Letorey

The fire crews set to work with beaters and limited water supplies, eventually bringing the blaze under control at around 2am on Wednesday.

As yet there is no information on what started the fire.

Above: Fire fighters hard at work. Credit: FF Neil McCann/Ilfracombe Fire Station

On the same night and almost opposite across the Bristol Channel in Swansea, there was another huge wildlife fire on the Mynydd Gelliwastad near the city.

The Holdstone blaze is the second wildfire in North Devon in three days, with crews called to a fire at Molland common near South Molton on Sunday.