NEARLY a dozen firefighters from Teignbridge helped tackle a major gorse fire in East Devon over the weekend which left five of their colleagues injured.

Crews from Dawlish and Bovey Tracey were among 100 firefighters called in to stop the spread of the blaze across Woodbury Common yesterday afternoon. (April 23)

Some firefighters were overcome by smoke during the incident as high winds whipped across a one-and-a-half-mile expanse of the bake-dry moorland between the Iron Age hill fort - Woodbury Castle - and the golf club, which had to be evacuated.

Some 20 appliances from across the county were despatched to deal with the emergency which kicked off just before 2pm. The firefighters suffered smoke inhalation difficulties as they helped evacuate the area and deal with the spread of the rampant blaze.

One crew member suffered slight burns during the incident which lasted well into the early hours of this morning. (April 24)

At the height of the fire, 15 hosereel jets were being used to knock out of the flames across numerous fronts. The operation also involved the wearing of eight sets of breathing gear, one high-volume pump, ten beaters and specialist 4x4 vehicles.

A fire spokesman said the cause of the blaze did not appear to be suspicious. It’s thought it started near a road.

The drama happened just days after fire chiefs had issued a warning to the public to be wary of tinder-dry conditions across moorland.

Crews were still damping down at first light today.