An investigation is underway after a fire was 'deliberately' started at a County Durham woodland near to a top regional tourist attraction.
Firefighters and council wardens were called to a wooded area near to Beamish on Monday (April 17) following reports of a tree on fire.
When they arrived, the tree was entirely destroyed by fire and it had started to spread to other trees and the woodland floor.
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Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire - but the fire service is now investigting the incident.
Following the fire, Durham County Council wardens posted several images of the damage and a post about the serious incident.
A spokesperson for Durham County Council's warden team said: "This could have gotten out of hand very quickly - Neighbourhood Wardens spotted smoke coming from woodland near Beamish last night and went to investigate.
"They found that a fire had been lit under a fallen tree by unknown persons. The wardens quickly contacted the Fire Service and directed officers to the location who were able to extinguish the fire before it spread."
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