FIREFIGHTERS had to tackle a total of six heath fires on Exmoor which in just five days destroyed at least 100 acres of land.

And although most were planned 'burns' that went out of control, at least two are thought to be the work of arsonists.

Crews were called out to Oare near Porlock twice within 48 hours to tackle two separate heath fires.

In the first at North Common last Saturday, firefighters from Porlock and Lynton, along with a specialist Groundhog vehicle from Nether Stowey, discovered a 300-metre fire front when they arrived at the scene just before 1.30pm.

More specialist vehicles from Lynton, Minehead and Nether Stowey were drafted in and firefighters quite quickly managed to reduce the length of the fire front by half.

Police were called in to help direct traffic because of the volume of smoke billowing over the area.

But the blaze, which was spread over two separate areas, was brought under control just after 3pm.

Crews from Lynton were back in action on Monday afternoon when a fire broke out near the Yenworthy Lodge study centre on the Porlock to Lynton road.

Using beaters, the firefighters were able to bring the incident under control within 45 minutes of arriving at the scene.

But on Tuesday, the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service had to deal with three separate fires within eight hours.

Crews from Dulverton, Minehead, Porlock and Nether Stowey, along with a range of specialist vehicles and equipment, were sent to Withypool Common just before 1pm.

They were faced with two fire fronts across a significant area of moor, with the blaze being fanned by moderate winds.

Further appliances from Lynton and Bampton were drafted in, together with more specialist vehicles, as well as the incident command unit from Wiveliscombe and incident support unit from Taunton.

The blaze was finally brought under control almost four hours later with the help of a water bowser from the Exmoor National Park Authority, pumps and a Groundhog vehicle.

Firefighters also used beaters and eventually managed to create a natural firebreak but 70 acres of heathland was destroyed.

Shortly before 6pm, crews from Dulverton were called out to West Anstey Common where a gorse fire had taken hold in two separate areas.

But the incident was brought under control using beaters, hose reel jets and a pump.

However, two hours later Dulverton firefighters were called out again, this time to Brightworthy Barrows near Withypool.

Within an hour they were just damping down isolated hotspots but the incident resulted in five acres of grassland being destroyed.

And a further five acres of gorse was destroyed when fire broke out at Lucott Cross, Luccombe at midday on Wednesday.

Crews from Minehead, Porlock and Williton, along with a number of specialist vehicles, were drafted in to tackle the blaze.

Investigations have confirmed that both the Luccombe and Brightworthy Barrows fires were started deliberately.

Paul Slaven, spokesman for the Devon and Somerset Fire Service, appealed to people to alert the police if they saw anyone acting suspiciously.

But he also warned people to be careful during the current dry weather.

"The commons are very dry and the gorse is high, which means there is likely to remain a fire risk for the foreseeable future," he said.

"The public are urged to take extra care at this time, especially regarding smoking materials, hot cooking devices and hot vehicle exhausts.

"Under current conditions, a fire driven by the wind will grow quickly and move with sometimes frightening speed which can put members of the public at serious risk.

"Fires on the commons cause enormous damage, not only to the habitat for the many animals, plants and birds that live there, but also destroy the natural beauty of the area."

Anyone seeing any suspicious activity should contact the police Crimestoppers service on 0800 555111.