WEST YORKSHIRE Fire & Rescue Service is encouraging people to be 'moor' aware and know the dangers of having barbecues on moorland, after firefighters were called to an incident near Ilkley earlier this week.

Crews were called out to a disposable BBQ which had caught fire, despite BBQs being banned on moorland in West Yorkshire.

The fire was a minor one, but had it "developed into a larger fire", West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said, a "significant area of the moor" could have been affected.

A tweet reads:

On its website, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service adds: "West Yorkshire is a diverse landscape of towns, villages, countryside and moorland. Our moors are host to wildlife, are a natural store of global carbon and a leisure hotspot for walkers, fell runners and bikers.

"Each year wildfire destroys thousands of hectares of our countryside, having significant effects on the economy, environment and social fabric of rural areas.

"The Pennine Moors covering Kirklees, Calderdale and parts of Bradford contain Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), the highest National Protection Designation and highest European Nature Conservation Designation.

"West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has a statutory duty to protect the moorland environment and is a member of the South Pennines Fire Operation Group made up of local councils, landowners, Fire and Rescue Services, Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Pennine Prospects and Natural England. The group coordinates protection activity within these areas.

"Along with our partners, we want people to #BeMoorAware of the impacts that moorland wildfire has on our communities and how we can help to prevent future wildfires across West Yorkshire."