Suspected arson attack destroys protected woodland in Barton Hills
Rare woodland on top of the Barton Hills was ravaged by fire after a suspected arson attack at the weekend.
Firefighters were called to Leet Wood, part of the nature reserve, at around 9pm on Friday (May 29) to reports of a wildfire.
Barton Hills National Nature Reserve is classified as a site of special scientific interest and is protected by law.
Reserve warden Dean Elcome arrived at the scene to find parts of the woodland and undergrowth on fire.
He said: “When I got up there, I realised quite the scale of what happened. It’s damaged the root systems of quite a few beech trees, the mature beech trees, which are well over 150 years old.”
Four fire engines and more than 30 staff were needed to put out the blaze, with efforts to extinguish it going on until 3.30am the following morning.
The service said the fire was most likely started on purpose.
Dean, who works for Natural England, said: “It looks like there are remnants of a disposable barbecue, and they threw the hot coals into the undergrowth. If there was a breeze, I’d hate to think what could have happened.”
Firefighters have been going back to the site to check for hotspots.
Dean added: “This was the most significant fire that I can remember in 20 years of being a reserve warden.”