BORDON firefighters were kept busy this bank holiday weekend after being called out to a series of heathland fires.

The fire crews tackled one of the first fires of the weekend on Saturday afternoon, starting with a three-hour blaze at Broxhead Common.

A total of 26 firefighters and two officers tackled the fire which enveloped two hectares of gorse, trees and scrub land on the Lindford common.

Fire crews from Bordon, Grayshott, Alton, Farnham, and Rushmoor fought the blaze using two jets, three hose reels, beaters, two special Land Rovers and a multi-role vehicle.

The firefighters were then called to a small fire on the Longmoor Rangers at Liss and then later another small fire on Kingsley Common.

However, there was to be no let up for the fire crews who , hours later, were called to a late-night fire in Liphook.

In an hour-long blaze which took hold at around 10-30 pm, two hectares of scrub land was alight on Liphook Road (B2131) on the eastern side of Liphook.

The Land Rover unit from Bordon were joined by crews from Liphook, Grayshott and Petersfield, which totalled 15 firefighters and one officer, who used beaters and hose reels to fight the flames.

Sunday passed without incident but the busy weekend continued on Monday afternoon when another undergrowth fire, this time in Forest Road, Whitehill, took hold of one hectare of land at the Walldown Enclosure shortly before 2pm.

Bordon firefighters were joined by crews from Liphook and Grayshott to fight the fire which was eventually extinguished just after 3 pm.

The firefighters were also called out to a small oven fire in Headley Down.

The busy bank holiday weekend coincides with a warning issued by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service urging the county's residents to take care in the countryside.

The warning came after fire crews in the county attended 29 separate incidents of bush, heath and woodland fires over a period of 24 hours last Wednesday

As a result of this, and the busy bank holiday weekend, the service is urging people to be more cautious during the hot summer months.

A spokesman said: "We urge people to take extra care and not to light fires in the countryside or leave bonfires unattended.

"Fire can kill within minutes and destroy the wildlife in the countryside."