A huge blaze engulfed Marsden moorland when a controlled burn got out of hand.

Fire crews from Huddersfield, Elland and technical crews from Holmfirth and Todmorden raced spent almost four hours tackling the blaze near Cupwith Reservoir, off New Hey Road.

It was reported at 12.24pm on Saturday afternoon by the owner of private land, who had begun a deliberate fire to burn off old heather and other plants.

Flames and huge plumes of smoke could be spotted miles away from the site until a team of around 20 people finally managed to bring it under control.

Four hundred hectares were reported to have been damaged by the fire.

Elland watch commander, Andy Marshall, said fire crews used 4X4 water pumps, fire beaters and a new technique involving using high-powered leaf blowers, to put out the blaze.

He said: "The estates team alerted us to the fire, which may have become out of control due to it being quite windy.

"But we worked together and have successfully managed to extinguish it.

"All the land would have been burnt off anyway, it's just that the estate would have liked to have done it in small patches rather than all in one go."

Controlled burnings of moorland are commonly carried out in between November and the end of March to get rid of over-mature heather and encourage new plants to emerge.