Firefighters in Carlisle were forced to improvise to tackle a woodland fire - using nearby floodwater to tackle to blaze.

Carlisle west fire station were called out yesterday afternoon to a tree which had caught fire in woodland near Engine Lonning, off Newtown Road.

A spokesman for the fire station explained: "Some wood and branches had been made into a campfire and lit in the woods behind Turnstone Drive.

"Crews had to walk about a mile to find the fire."

The firefighters extinguished the blaze using a wildfire kit, which includes beaters and water backpacks.

The spokesman added: "It is common for us to improvise like this when we are in a remote location away from the fire engine."

The Carlisle west station spokesman stressed that lighting fires in woodland areas can be extremely dangerous, regardless of the weather conditions.

"Continued heating will cause a fire to be self sustaining in an environment with plenty of fuel such as wood.

"We ask people not to light or spark fires in such places.

"Wildfires and bushfires can start this way, and they can be extremely damaging as we all know, although this was an unlikely outcome in this instance."