PEOPLE have been reminded about the dangers of moorland fires including barbecues.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service says people could be fined up to £2,500 for having a barbecue on moorland, which are banned.

The service took to social media for its campaign Be Moor Aware.

The campaigns aims to raise awareness of the impacts that moorland wildfire has on the region’s communities and how people can help to prevent future wildfires across West Yorkshire.

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 thousand 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.