Tinder dry conditions are putting the UK countryside at high risk of devastating fires, warns NFU Mutual.

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The leading rural insurer is concerned that the current heat wave could lead to grassland and arable crop fires, putting lives at risk and costing millions of pounds in damaged crops and machinery.

“The tinder dry conditions and continuing heat wave pose a major fire risk to the countryside, threatening crops, equipment and even personal safety. Every precaution needs to be taken by both farmers and visitors alike.

“The huge fires raging on Saddleworth Moor are a stark warning to the damage fires can cause in very dry conditions”

“Weeks of dry sunny weather mean that huge areas of land across the whole of the UK are at risk of fire – putting lives of people and animals at risk as well as destroying valuable crops,” said Tim Price, NFU Mutual Rural Affairs Specialist.

“In many parts of the country, it’s been the driest June for over a decade and the land is so dry that discarded matches and cigarette ends thrown down from cars can easily start a fire.

“With the hot, dry, weather predicted to continue we are making a plea to countryside dwellers and visitors to take extreme care to avoid starting a fire.”

Because of May and June’s good weather, harvesting is already under way, weeks earlier than usual, and NFU Mutual is urging farmers to reduce the risk of fire by making sure that fire extinguishers on combine harvesters are serviced before harvest starts, and to make sure regular maintenance and cleaning to remove chaff is carried out.