A large marshland fire that was seen for miles in the Wirral may have been started deliberately.
The blaze occurred shortly before 7pm on Saturday 19 March at Parkgate and at this stage is being treated as arson.
The flames covered about one square kilometer and was “mainly extinguished” by midnight on Saturday, the Cheshire Fire Service said.
Police said they were keen to speak to a group of teenagers regarding the large blaze, which they said had “shocked and upset” the local community.
The fire ravaged important reedbeds that were part of Burton Mere Wetlands reserve and were looked after by the RSPB.
The wildlife charity is yet to assess the extent of the damaged marshland, which was home to bearded tits, warblers and bittern.
Cheshire police added that three boys and a girl, aged between 14 and 15, were all seen in the area when the fire began.
The girl had long dark hair and was wearing a dark jacket. The two boys were wearing dark jackets and the third teenager was wearing a light blue jacket and trousers, police said.
Inspector Paul Fegan said: “The scale of the fire has understandably shocked and upset our local community and residents can expect to see officers patrolling the area to provide reassurance.
“As part of our investigation I am keen to speak to anyone who many have been in the area shortly before the fire started and saw a group of youths matching the description.”
Concerns have been raised about the wildlife living on the marsh where the fire happened.
Carl Nevitt, a station manager with the Cheshire fire and rescue services, said: “We created fire breaks to protect properties and the police air support unit was used to give us information on the directional spread of the blaze.
“We were at the scene for some 15 hours,” he added, “leaving just before 10am this morning having monitored the area overnight after the flames were extinguished.”
