Lickey Hills fire: Barbecue warning repeated

Firefighters who tackled a huge fire at a country park are repeating warnings about disposable barbecues, as temperatures rise again.

About 60 firefighters were needed to bring flames under control at the Lickey Hills on 18 July.

A second, smaller fire on the same day was also caused by a barbecue at the beauty spot on the edge of Birmingham.

People are also being urged not to leave glass bottles behind as "bin loads" have been collected, crews said.

Nearby homes were evacuated and up to 12 acres were destroyed in the blaze.

"Although the barbecue caused it, and was removed from the scene in a sort of responsible fashion, it's the residual heat that caused the fire," Thom Morgan, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service group commander, said.

"So our fire safety advice would be, just not to use them at all even in your back gardens, they can set fire to decking and hedgerows.

"Really its to steer away from that in these current conditions and exercise that extra vigilance, I think."

The small pieces of glass that have been safely gathered from the ground there can also trigger fires by refracting the sun's rays, he added.

A second fire that broke out at the same time was dealt with by a local ranger ferrying wheelbarrow loads of water to pour on it, Jill Harvey, from the Lickey Hills Society said.

"It spread so easily underground here with the danger it could burn through the roots, but it was basically a barbecue fire - somebody had left a burning barbecue at the base of this stump."

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