Marsden Moor fire LIVE: Crews tackle blaze on moorland - latest updates

Fire crews are tackling a 'worrying' blaze on Marsden Moor this afternoon. Eight crews are understood to be working to put out the blaze near Marsden Golf Club this afternoon.

Footage shows huge plumes of smoke coming from the moor on Saturday afternoon (May 11). It comes as hot temperatures have swept the region for days. It is unclear exactly how the fire started.

One eyewitness said the fire was 'spreading quite fast', with crews understood to have been in attendance for several hours.

READ MORE: Richard Ashcroft on his big Wigan homecoming, hermit life... and the state of pies

In a statement on their website, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service wrote: "Crew from across West Yorkshire are in attendance at a Moorland Fire in Marsden. The fire is approx 300m x 300m and specialist Wildfire crews are dealing with the incident.

In a post on Facebook, the Peak District Moorland Group said the scenes were 'worrying'. "Afire has broken out apparently off their boundary but crept across cut vegetation ground," they wrote.

This is a live event. You can follow all the latest updates on the blog below...

According to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, there are crews in attendance this afternoon from:

Almost exactly a year ago, Marsden Moor experienced a series of fires that triggered a public meeting between the National Trust, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and West Yorkshire Police.

On their website, the National Trust said fires on Marsden Moor in recent years have caused 'widespread devastation' to the landscape.

They said the risk of fires is particularly high when there are prolonged periods of dry weather or when there’s a drought, but fires can happen at any time of year.

In a statement on their