LABOUR’S ‘woke’ rewilding drive risks fuelling a surge in wildfires, experts warned, as a huge blaze tore across almost 1,000 acres of moorland yesterday.

The inferno on Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, Derbyshire, broke out on Wednesday night as Britain recorded its, then, hottest ever June day, leaving the ground dangerously dry.

Multiple fire engines and two helicopters battled the blaze, which sent thick smoke and ash billowing for miles across neighbouring towns and villages.

While the cause of it remains unknown, the Government was warned its rewilding policies may have added fuel to the flames, which only came under control last night.

It says curbs on traditional land management have allowed dangerous build-ups of dry vegetation, turning large swathes of countryside into tinderboxes primed to ignite in heatwaves.

Rewilding involves allowing nature to look after itself without human interference. Gamekeepers and farmers have traditionally carried out controlled burning of heather and grasses in the cooler months – encouraging new shoots which grouse and sheep graze.

Last year, the Government brought in strict rules preventing controlled burning of heather on more than 1.6million acres of land. They claim the measure targeted at peatlands will improve air quality and ‘protect environmental and public health’.

But Andrew Gilruth, of the Moorlands Association, said the ‘core problem’ is farmers and gamekeepers have been increasingly stopped from reducing vegetation. ‘The fire on Tintwistle Moor is on land which the RSPB has rewilded. This has created huge amounts of tinder dry dead vegetation which catches fire very easily,’ he said.

The CEO added: ‘If Andy Burnham wants to stop the north of England being scarred by wildfires he needs to have a scorched-earth approach to such reckless behaviour.’

Natural England insists burning damages carbon-storing peat and it instead promotes mechanical cutting – but critics say while this reduces the so-called fuel load, it leaves ignitable materials behind.

This week, veteran gamekeeper Richard Bailey warned MPs that the steady build-up of vegetation was producing hotter, more dangerous fires.

‘Unless Westminster stops deliberately building up huge fuel loads of vegetation, it’s only a matter of time before someone is getting killed,’ he told the environment select committee.

Victoria Atkins, Shadow Environment Secretary, said Labour’s restrictions were an ‘idealistic’ approach that has ignored the role of managed burns in limiting dangerous, large-scale fires.

‘The terrible fire in Derbyshire is a stark reminder of how important it is to do everything possible to stop wildfires,’ she said.

‘While the cause of this fire is unknown, we need to make sure that those preventing fires have all the tools possible to prevent harm to wildlife, ecosystems and disruption of rural livelihoods.

‘That’s why we opposed Labour’s effective ban of controlled burns. Farmers, estate managers, gamekeepers, firefighters and others understand that carefully planned, controlled burns are an essential tool for limiting the scale and danger of wildfires. The Government has not grasped the trade-off between preventative, managed burning and the risk of large, unpredictable and hazardous wildfires.

‘Instead, they take an idealistic environmental approach not rooted in the reality of land management.’

The National Fire Chiefs Council reported that 2025 was a record year for wildfires, surpassing the previous peak in 2022.

Last August, the UK’s largest wildfire burned for more than a month on Langdale Moor, North York Moors, and was declared a major incident.

Grouse shooting groups insist controlled burning is vital, which they say clears old heather without harming peat, skimming moorland surface and stimulating new growth. Alex Farrell, head of uplands at the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), said: ‘While it is far too early to determine the cause of these fires or the factors that have influenced their behaviour, there is growing concern that further restrictions on controlled burning have reduced the ability of land managers to control fuel loads in many upland landscapes.

‘The irony is, as regulation has tightened, the risk of large-scale wildfires has increased. In the name of protecting peatlands, they may well have been set up to burn.’ He added: ‘As the climate continues to change, those who manage the uplands need more practical tools, not fewer. Controlled cool burning isn’t the threat, it’s part of the solution.’

Gavin Lane, President of the Country Landowners and Business Association, said the policies amounted to a de facto ban.

‘The system now required to apply for a licence to burn is so complex, time consuming and unwieldy as to be unfit for purpose,’ he explained. ‘With hotter, drier weather making moorland fires more dangerous, we cannot afford a system that blocks common sense. Government must fix it, fast, so the people who know this land can protect it.’

Henrietta Appleton, policy officer at Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, called for a Wildfire Mitigation Minister to develop local strategies to manage vegetation fuel ‘before someone dies’.

Labour MP Alison Hume, who chairs a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Wildfires Prevention, said action was needed urgently ‘before tragedy occurs’. She added: ‘The Government investment in restoration and resilience is certainly welcome. However, our APPG will be pressing for the publication of a national wildfire strategy as a matter of urgency.’

A spokesman for United Utilities, which owns Tintwistle Moors, said it was supporting Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service with all-terrain vehicles and two helicopters carrying out water drops. The water company said its long-term approach was to ‘restore peatlands to a healthier, wetter and more resilient condition, as dry, degraded peat is more vulnerable to fire’.

It said it managed ‘vegetation in a site-specific way which are central to reducing risk over time.

‘Where appropriate, we use cutting as part of our land management approach to reduce fuel load, manage vegetation structure and support habitat restoration.’