Be careful with gorse burns, warn firefighters

The Island's Fire and Rescue Service says people should take precautions if they're planning to burn gorse, after high winds fanned a huge blaze on Peel Hill yesterday.

Crews from Peel, Port Erin, Kirk Michael and Douglas tackled the fire, after a controlled burn jumped a fire break.

Water had to be pumped in from a kilometre away through specialist equipment including a portable dam.

The fire was put out after some hours, with firefighters on hand to monitor for hotspots that might catch light again in strong winds.