An artist has been jailed after starting a devastating moorlands blaze and causing £500,000 worth of damage - by setting off a firework to impress his girlfriend.
More than 100 firefighters tackled the mile-long inferno after Viktor Riedly, 28, torched 285 hectares of land.
The stunt, which took place on April 25 of last year, has been described as an "act of gross and crass recklessness".
Leeds Crown Court heard the 3D artist sparked the fire by "experimenting" with a device he'd created for letting fireworks off remotely.
Charlotte Rimmer, prosecuting, said that embers from the firecracker rapidly spread across Marsden Moor, near the town of Holmfirth, West Yorks.
The flaming inferno then went on to consume precious peatland habitat and harmed wildlife, including ground-nesting birds, in a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) promptly declared a major incident.
However, it took three days to bring the blaze under control, with specialist units being called in from across the county.
Ms Rimmer said that the incident cost the fire service £410,000 and would set back the National Trust £167,000 to repair the damage.
Riedly, of Huddersfield, West Yorks. pleaded guilty to arson and was jailed for a year.
Anastasis Tasou, mitigating, said: "He accepted full responsibility, and he is a man who has exhibited genuine remorse over his actions.
"He is not a young hooligan. He is otherwise a respectable person.
"He just didn't consider that there was a risk in an area that was devoid of buildings.
"It was a relatively early part of the year, but it was unusually dry and windy. This must have contributed to the fact that the fire started."
The barrister also said his client had applied to become a volunteer for the National Trust to help repair the damage he had caused.
Judge Neil Clark said the offence was too serious to impose anything other than an immediate prison sentence.
He told Riedly: "It was an act of gross and crass recklessness"
"This was done for no other reason than to satisfy your curiosity for what you had created.
"People have to understand that taking risks with such a vital public amenity cannot be tolerated."
After the hearing, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Area Manager Scott Donegan said: "We as a service very much welcome the sentence handed out today and hope it reminds others not to start fires on our moorland.
"This fire caused huge damage to the environment on the moor and required a large response from WYFRS.
"Fires like these are the reason we have Public Space Protection Orders banning flammable items like fireworks.”
At the time of the blaze, Craig Best, countryside manager for the National Trust, said it was “frustrating” to see yet another fire on the moors after all the hard work his team had put in to try and restore the landscape after another fire in 2019, which was started by a barbecue.
“Although not on the same area of land as the 2019 fire, this fire has also destroyed a crucial area for rare birds and mammals, as well as a carbon-capturing blanket bog.
“Unfortunately, this was another fire started by people and could have so easily been avoided.”
Barbecues and fires are banned on the moors all year round to protect the landscape, with anyone breaching the ban liable to face a fine of up to £2,000.
