Fire damage on hills 'could take years to undo'

A wildlife trust has said fire damage to a Sandwell nature reserve is "extensive" and could take years to undo.

Thirty firefighters were sent to the scene on Portway Hill in Oldbury, part of the Rowley Hills, when flames broke out on Wednesday.

Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust, which manages the spot, said the site was a "stronghold" for Marbled White butterflies, and was home to scarce plants including Pyramidal Orchids and Bee Orchids. It added there was "geology of international importance" to be found there.

It added that staff would work hard to hep nature recover.

It is not yet known what caused the fire.

West Midlands Fire Service said Wednesday was one of its busiest days of the year with almost 800 calls amid hot and dry conditions.

It added that crews had attended "a number of deliberately-set fires" at locations that included grasslands.

Portway Hill is not the only site run by the wildlife trust to have been hit by fire in recent weeks - Moseley Bog & Joy's Wood, the childhood playground of The Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, was also affected, the trust said.

Castle Vale Meadows, which the trust helped create in 2013, also saw fires.

Deputy chief executive of the trust Dan Brown said he was "saddened" by the fire, and called on the public to cherish green spaces.

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