THE knock-on effects of the devastating fires at Winter Hill and Saddleworth Moor could lead to serious conditions such as asthma, lung cancer and infant mortality.

At times during the moorland fires, pollution in the form of smoke and ash particles was at three times the limit that would see firms prosecuted.

This pollution could have a shocking impact on the air breathed by people living across Greater Manchester, new analysis has found.

In the week following June 24, when the fires were at their height, the legal limit for daily average exposure to particle pollution, also called particulate matter (50ppm), was breached on five occasions at sites across Greater Manchester.

Extremely high individual spikes, in excess of 150ppm, were also registered at monitoring stations during the incidents.

This particulate matter is linked to serious conditions such as asthma, lung cancer and infant mortality.

The figures were revealed in IPPR North's briefing paper Natural Assets North: Valuing our Northern Uplands.

Jack Hunter, report author and research fellow, said: "The impact of the fires at Winter Hill and Saddleworth Moor provide a timely reminder that we must not take the North’s natural assets for granted. If we don’t value the natural environment properly, the consequences for people, the environment and the Northern Powerhouse economy can be disastrous.

"Policymakers need to put the natural environment right at the heart of decisions about the future of the North. To fail to do so would be tragically short-sighted."

The Saddleworth Moor blaze began on June 24 and took more than three weeks to extinguish. At its peak, the fire covered an area of 7sq miles.

The moorland blaze at Rivington Moor, which started on June 28, was quickly declared a major incident taking 20 days to be brought under control.

Fire crews from Lancashire Fire and Rescue were battling the blaze for more than five weeks.

The recovery phase for Winter Hill involved the work of local authorities, United Utilities, the Woodlands Trust and several other agencies.

One of the firemen who responded to the blaze said: "To have two fires of this scale was an unprecedented incident.

"It stretch the fire service hugely. Crews had to come from far and wide.

"It was resource intensive and labour intensive during one of the hottest summers on record."

The Woodland Trust is replacing the trees lost during the wildfire.

In October, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Food and Animal Welfare, David Rutley, said his department and the Forestry Commission are working with the Woodland Trust to plan recovery work and help affected landowners.

A 22-year-old man from Bolton and a 20-year-old man from Wigan were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life in connection with the blaze but nobody has yet been charged.