LIFE will never return to part of the moorland devastated by the Winter Hill fire.

The Woodland Trust faced one of its largest ever incidents when the top of the Smithills Estate became engulfed in flames by the moorland fire.

Whole ecosystems on the 1,700-acre Smithills Estate have been “wiped out” by the devastating Winter Hill fire, with the trust fearing the habitat will take years to recover with the "scars lasting a long time".

A third of the estate has been burnt by the Winter Hill fire.

On the historic Smithills Estate, the fire largely affected upland grassland and moorland. Short-eared owls, oystercatcher and curlew all breed on the moor and any nest would have perished.

Many smaller creatures such as frogs, toads, lizards and rodents will have been unable to escape in time.

Jessica Britch, estate ranger, said: "We are asking people to keep the paths so the area can rejuvenate and regrow.

"In part of the estate you can see regrowth already but unfortunately the peat has burned so deeply over a long period of time with hardly any rain, there will be areas where nothing will grow, we are assessing the areas which are sterile."

The Woodland Trust had received lottery funding to improve the moorland habitat.

Jessica said: "A third of the estate has been damaged, 2,000 trees have been destroyed, nine km of fencing has been burnt and we had just got SSSI status, so it has been devastating and upsetting.

"We are trying to be positive, we have a great team of volunteers and we are planting trees and will be working with Natural England."

The team of volunteers will be carrying out wildlife surveys to see which species have been affected and which will return. The trust is raising money for the restoration of the area.

"The Woodland Trust does not allow barbecues on its land, and it is about raising awareness of using barbecues and being careful.

"We are not used to long dry summers, and I'm sure in other parts of the world there are messages about risks of fire ­— the flick of a cigarette, glass left behind and barbecues. So many resources were used to tackle the fire, firefighters from across the country came."

She reiterated the message for members of the public to stay on the footpaths.

"People might see the burnt black moorland and think it would safe to walk on, but they could fall into a sinkhole, so it is for their safety as well as to help the habitat recover."

For more information visit https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/