Firefighters spend more than five hours tackling 100-hectare blaze in Northumberland

Firefighters spent more than five hours at the scene of a huge blaze which broke out in Northumberland.

Crews were called to Simonside Hills at around 3.20pm to reports that a large amount of heather had caught fire with the flames rapidly spreading.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen for miles with the fire understood to have covered as much as 100 hectares of land near Joe's Wood.

Eight fire crews have been tackling the huge blaze for hours (Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service)

Five appliances were initially dispatched to the scene and they were joined by specialist wildfire officers.

At its height, eight crews were at the scene with dozens of firefighters using argo cats from a nearby farm to mobilise themselves around the perimeter of the fire.

The public was advised to stay away from the area with any nearby residents urged to keep their windows and doors closed.

Coun Steven Bridgett, ward member for Rothbury, said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the fire from a field near my home.

"You could see the smoke rising over the top of the hill.

"I am absolutely in awe of how quickly the fire service responded and how they got to it with it being in such a difficult location.

"With the help of the gamekeeper at Lordenshaws they are starting to get the fire under control.

"It certainly is not easy in normal circumstances but to respond the way they have in the current climate we find ourselves in is a credit to them."

Firefighters working in tough conditions at the large-scale fire (Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service)

The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but an investigation into the circumstances of how it started is expected to take place.

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service confirmed at 8.30pm that the fire was 'under control' and crews had been stood down for the night.

A spokeswoman said: "Our crews now have the fire well under control.

"We had scaled back our operation from eight to four fire engines, plus fire fogging unit, ably supported by around 20 firefighters.

"The remaining crews dampened down and extinguished hot spots at the scene, but everything is thankfully under control.

"All crews have now been stood down for the night with follow-up visits to take place on Tuesday.

"It has been great work from our firefighters who got on top of this really quickly covering over 100 hectares of tough terrain."