MORE than 100 firefighters spent hours extinguishing a gorse blaze on Dartmoor which covered 10 square kilometres.

Some 18 pumps from across the county, including ones from Newton Abbot, Bovey Tracey, Moretonhampstead and Buckfastleigh, dealt with yesterday’s incident which centred on Watern Tor, not far from the memorial to poet Ted Hughes, west of Chagford.

The first 999 call was received just after 11am with the number of crews alerted increasing hourly as the scale of the fire became more apparent.

Crews created fire breaks and used standard beaters to deal with the burning ground which extended two-to three kilometres on four fronts.

A welfare unit was soon despatched to provide food and drink for firefighters.

Seven hours later the fire had done its worst with crews staying to check for any lingering hot-spots.

A Chagford crew returned at 8pm to check the scene.

The cause of the fire has not been established, although a carelessly discarded lit cigarette in dry conditions is not being ruled out as the villain.