Farmer sets the heather on fire as blaze burns for 22 hours

A WILDFIRE in Dumfries and Galloway raged for 22 hours before it was extinguished by a team of 25 firefighters.

The blaze is thought to have started after a controlled burn by a farmer became unmanageable. The blaze started on a farm in the Mochrum area of Wigtownshire at 6pm on Sunday and was finally extinguished at 4pm yesterday.

At its height the fire measured three miles by two miles across. Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service deployed four fire engines and 25 fire fighters to tackle the blaze.

There were fears it could spread to a nearby forest but they managed to keep it restricted to the heather and moorland.