Illegal fires have been started on some of the UK’s protected peatlands – described as ‘national rainforests’ due to the amount of carbon they store – despite a government ban on the practice.
Owners of shooting estates are known to set old heather plants ablaze to encourage the growth of new plants and attract hungry grouse for the hunting season.
However, last year the government introduced a ban on grouse moor fires, stating that ‘there is a consensus that burning