Fire bosses today warned people not to discard cigarettes or lit matches after a grass fire in Nelson.

Firefighters were called to an area of land behind a new housing estate by Marsden Old Road, at 6.10pm yesterday.

Crews spent half a hour at the scene with beaters, tackling the blaze which damaged about half an acre of land.

It is not known how the fire started but crew manager Tom Ashworth said someone throwing away a match or cigarette could have unwittingly sparked the fire.

He said: "We are urging people to be careful especially at this time of year when during dry spells any kind of spark can start quite a serious fire."