A beauty spot was ravaged by a devastating fire that could be seen from as far as North Wales.
It's been a year since the blaze on marshland in Parkgate, near Neston, hit the headlines on March 19, 2022. At the height of the fire, which tore through 500 square metres of marshland, six fire crews from Cheshire and Merseyside were at the scene.
A police helicopter was also sent out to monitor the situation as the wind continued to blow the flames further. Firefighters used fire breaks to protect the homes of nearby residents.
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Just hours after the fire began Cheshire Police said they were treating the incident as arson. Three boys, two of them aged 13, the other 14, were arrested on suspicion of arson and released on conditional bail.
Since then, three teenagers have been summonsed to court to face charges of arson and damaging a site of special scientific interest without notice. The three boys, one aged 14 and two aged 15 will appear at West Cheshire Youth Court on 5 April. They cannot be named for legal reasons.
Ariel footage showed the aftermath of the blaze which raged on into the evening. Photos taken by the ECHO this week show what the area looks like 12 months on from the fire.
The fire led to fears for wildlife living on the marsh, which is an area of special scientific interest and a reserve cared for by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). In a statement at the time, the RSPB the nature reserve could take up to two years to recover from the damage.
It said: "About 10 hectares of the marsh was burnt in the fire, including all the reedbed vegetation and some areas of saltmarsh vegetation.
"While we’re hopeful the root systems have survived, and that the reeds will grow back over the coming years, there is no chance of wildlife successfully nesting in those areas in the coming months. It will be a year or two at the earliest before this area can once again support breeding birds like bearded tits, Cetti’s warblers and marsh harriers."
In an update this week, the RSPB's Graham Jones said: "The reedbed is recovering as expected. Reed grew back quickly, and to look at it now you wouldn’t think there had ever been a fire, but it’s the lost leaf litter that also needs to build up.
"Normally, Bittern use the reedbed as roost site in the winter but none used it over the winter. Luckily, they still wintered on the marsh but roosted away from the reedbed.
"This spring, we have got Marsh Harrier back looking like they will nest again in the reedbed this year, which is good. It will be also be interesting to see how the Reed Warbler population responds this year."
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