Fire crews tackle four Shropshire grass fires in a day

They again urged people to take steps to avoid the risk of fire - as weather forecasts say the heatwave is likely to continue until the end of July at least.

The biggest fire in Shropshire yesterday involved a 30 metre by 50 metre area in a straw field in Shrewsbury.

Two crews from Shrewsbury and a pump from Minsterley were sent to the blaze off Haycock Way.

Firefighters damp down at the site off Haycock Way in Shrewsbury

Elsewhere in Shropshire a fire involving 80 square metres of grass and undergrowth happened off the A464 in Shifnal at about 3.15pm. A fire crew from Tweedale attended the scene and dealt with the fire by 4pm.

Another crew tackled a fire at Blakeley at about 1.20pm where a small area of gorse and grass was alight. Firefighters from Hodnet spent about an-hour-and-a-half at the scene and it took them about 30 minutes to get the fire under control.

Meanwhile, a fire involving about 10ft by 3ft of hedge happened in Hinwood Road, Westbury, near Shrewsbury.

A crew from Shrewsbury spent about 30 minutes dealing with the fire which happened at about 10.45am.

Yesterday's fire follow the blaze engulfed 200 square metres of woodland at Grinshill Wood, near Wem, last week, together with the destruction of 80 tons of hay stored in a barn on land at Blakeley, near Shawbury, last weekend.

Fire service spokesman Shaun Baker said: "These types of fires can be hard work. They can spread quickly because of the wind.They often involve going up and down hillsides which can be physically demanding."

Mr Baker appealed to the public to do their bit to prevent the fires, adding: "Don't discard cigarettes, if you break a bottle try picking it up and discard it properly. Make sure barbecues and open fires are put out properly."