Parts of UK at 'exceptional' wildfire risk as hills ablaze

Dry, hot and windy conditions led to parts of southern England being declared at "exceptional" risk of wildfires Monday, as firefighters battled blazes on hills in northern England and Wales.

Several areas of southern England were at "exceptional" risk of major wildfires, according to government advisory body Natural England, as Britain has faced unprecedented heatwaves for much of the last two months.

Natural England flagged warnings for areas including beach resorts such as the Isle of Wight, and southern coastal towns Bognor Regis and Lyme Regis. The extreme risk tag can be used in any decision on barring the public from an area.

London's Fire Brigade also declared there was an "extreme" risk of wildfires in the capital at the weekend.

In east London, part of the overground rail network was closed Monday for repairs after a fire beside the tracks. A wildfire set fields alight on the southeastern edge of London on Sunday.

In north Wales, firefighters on Monday continued to extinguish a large wildfire on Conwy Mountain, that has been declared a major incident with people evacuated from their homes.

White smoke billowed from hills and some areas were blackened and charred, a video posted by the North Wales and Rescue Service showed.

"I can smell the smoke from my house", local MP Claire Hughes wrote on X.

"We are used to fires on the mountain, but this is a different scale entirely."

In northern England, several fires were burning in moorland in the scenic Peak District, one of which was also declared a major incident Sunday.

Firefighters said they were still battling flames Monday at Tintwistle Moor west of Manchester after high winds overnight.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) last week said the third heatwave since May brought a higher risk of wildfires because it was expected to last longer than the previous ones.