A CREW from East Lancashire put a pioneering fire engine through its paces at a special launch yesterday.

Firefighters from Darwen fire station tested out the all-terrain Softrack' vehicle at the demonstration, which took place at a moorland location off School Lane, Laneshawbridge.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service has worked closely with the Devon-based manufacturer, Log-logic, to create the machine, which is thought to be the UK's first all-terrain fire engine.

Softrack, which is set to be rolled out to crews across the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, is a cater-pillar-tracked vehicle that can carry firefighters and the equipment they need to fight fires in off-road situations such as woods and moorland.

Fires on moorlands are a threat, particularly during dry spells in summer, but they often happen much earlier in the year too, when winter grass and heather growth becomes tinder-dry and fire-prone.

The launch took place on the site of a massive fire in July 2006, when eight fire engines from Lancashire battled for seven hours to extinguish a blaze, which threatened to engulf the Herders' Inn - at the time undergoing conversion into private housing.

Lancashire's Chief Fire Officer, Peter Holland, expects Softrack to be of great benefit to officers tackling fires on moorland.

He said: "The vehicle confers enormous advantages in terms of efficiency and versatility to the sort of emergency situations, such as moorland fires, that have in the past created problems in terms of inaccessibility for conventional fire engines, necessitating labour-intensive commitment to get the job done."

Lancashire's Breathing Apparatus and Technical Officer, Paul Thompson, who was responsible for the purchase of the vehicle, said: "Everyone was more than happy with how it went and it was a pleasure to demonstrate such a good machine.

"Obviously we're not wishing for fires, but it would be good to see it in action properly and get some feedback from officers."