MORE than 100 firefighters were last night battling a huge moorland blaze as it extended its path towards the North Yorkshire coast.

As darkness fell, 19 fire engines were at the scene on Fylingdales Moor, with specialist support vehicles also attending.

Earth-moving equipment was moved to the scene, ready to create firebreaks to stop the flames spreading any further.

The fire, which broke out at about 2.30pm on Wednesday, covered four square miles when it escalated dramatically yesterday afternoon.

It breached the A171, which was closed earlier to traffic, and a disused railway line, and was being fought on four fronts, three of which were said to be a mile long.

Four houses were evacuated for safety reasons and a helicopter was standing by to help with firefighting operations if necessary. Crews were expected to be at the scene all last night and into today.

Because of the difficulty of finding local sources of water, some of the fire engines were shuttling in supplies.

Assistant Chief Officer Chris Anderson said: "I strongly recommend that people stay away from the area. As we have already seen, the fire can spread very rapidly and may catch the unwary off guard.

"A significant area of the Cleveland Way, popular with walkers, is affected by this fire. For their own safety, walkers should stay away from the area between Ravenscar in the south, up to Boggle Hole in the north."

Indications are that the fire may have been started by someone failing to put out a cigarette or a barbecue properly.