Up to 40 firefighters battle Dunloy inferno

Soaring temperatures across Northern Ireland left vegetation extremely dry and susceptible to fire.

At around 2.30pm on Wednesday gorse at Mallaboy Road was set alight, the cause of which is not yet known.

Six fire appliances attended the blaze which was said to cover a two mile area at one point.

It took firefighters until around 10pm to extinguish it.

No local residents had to be evacuated from their homes.

A spokesperson for the Fire and Rescue Service described the fire as “substantial”.

He appealed for members of the public to exercise caution in the months ahead to prevent such fires.

These include not disregarding lit cigarettes, ensuring barbecues and camp fires are fully extinguished and not leaving glass bottles close to potentially flammable materials in the hot weather.

Last year the fire service was stretched to breaking point as it dealt with hundreds of fires during a similar dry spell at the end of April and the beginning of May.