IN PICTURES - Images show devastation of fire ravaged Darwen Moor

As flames ravaged the grassland over the weekend, around 50 firefighters and ten fire engines from Lancashire and Greater Manchester battled to contain the blaze using specialist equipment and extra resources, including a high volume pump and water cannons from the brigade helicopter.

Images from the incident flooded social media channels, with people from Darwen and surrounding areas looking on in horror as their precious moorland was destroyed.

The fire, which is thought to have affected 5km of moorland, broke out on Saturday afternoon and is believed to have been started by a discarded barbecue.

Eight fire engines from Lancashire and Greater Manchester were initially sent to the moorland fire off Bolton Road, Darwen, along with a Polaris vehicle, two hagglund vehicles and the burn team.

On Sunday morning a helicopter was sent to drop water onto the moors in a bid to stop the blaze from spreading.

Crews remained at the scene overnight and on Monday sent more resources to try and bring the incident to some sort of end.

By mid-afternoon, firefighters looked to have made progress, with more help drafted in from the helicopter and high volume pump.

Finally, at 8am on Tuesday, fire chiefs announced the incident was under control, with firefighters damping down hot spots for the remainder of the day.

It is thought many species of wildlife were wiped out in the blaze, including a nest of Golden Plover chicks, whose parents had been encouraged back to the moor

to breed.

On Saturday, police spoke with two men in their twenties in relation to the incident, and officers say they will be interviewed at a later date as the joint investigation into the fire continues.