FIREFIGHTERS in the Petersfield area were kept busy over the bank holiday weekend by a series of heathland fires.

Now Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging people to take care in the countryside.

A spokesman said: "One of the main problems with heath fires is that they start very easily.

"Flicking a cigarette end out of a car window can be enough to start a fire. Fire can kill within minutes and destroy the wildlife in the countryside."

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

Fire crews from Petersfield , Liphook, Bordon, Grayshott and Alton answered emergency calls throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, they tackled a blaze on the Longmoor Ranges at Liss and then later another fire on Kingsley Common.

Later that night firefighters rushed to scrubland at Liphook which was alight.

The Land Rover unit from Bordon was joined by crews from Liphook Petersfield and Grayshott and a total of 15 firefighters and an officer used beaters and hose reels to fight the flames.

Fire crews were out again on Bank Holiday Monday when fire broke out in undergrowth on the Forest Road at Whitehill.