Grassed areas across Mansfield which have deliberately been left untended to encourage wildlife will now be mown to reduce the risk of them catching fire. It comes after a major incident in Forest Town in which local resident Kellie Gillott was left thousands of pounds out of pocket when a vast field fire spread to her property and destroyed a caravan and damaged a car.
Ms Gillott, 46, who has lived in her house on Maunleigh for seven years, questioned why the field where the fire started had been left unmown for so long. She said the grass was "so long before" and that she believed this to be why the flames spread so quickly.
Ms Gillott said she hoped the Forest Town fire had been a "learning experience". And Mansfield District Council has since confirmed the rest of the grass on the field affected by the fire will be mown, along with several other areas in the town.
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Mariam Amos, the strategic director at the council, said: "Mansfield has had an unprecedented dry, hot summer that has been a big problem not only locally but nationally, throughout Europe and worldwide. In our own parks we have some areas that have been deliberately left unmown for several months to encourage wildlife and biodiversity.
"It's a difficult balancing act creating habitats where wildflowers and wildlife can thrive whilst also managing the potential for grass fires to arise as the vegetation dries out later in the season. As such, we will be mowing these areas in the coming days and we will be assessing how we can safely maintain and manage the areas left for biodiversity reasons to reduce the risk of potential fire incidents in the future."
A resident of Breckbank, who did not want to be named, also said that the grass had been an issue. He said: "When we recently had the 40C heat we were all just waiting for something to happen because of how dry it was and how long this grass is. We're getting councillors down here to come and have a look because it needs addressing, especially after this."
Emergency services were called to the fire on land near Maunleigh and Breckbank just before 3pm on Saturday, August 13. Crews from five fire stations attended the incident and several houses were evacuated as a precaution.
Nottinghamshire Police arrested a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of arson following the incident, with both of them having since been released on conditional bail whilst investigations continue.
Ms Amos added: "This large-scale incident was dealt with swiftly thanks to our partners in fire and policing but also the local residents. They were swift to act and help transport water to the fire before the fire service arrived on scene, which was a fabulous display of communities coming together in a urgent time of need. The council thanks everybody involved for their actions and bravery."
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