Moorland wildfire threatens distillery

A HUGE wildfire broke out on moorland above Macclesfield - threatening the iconic Cat and Fiddle distillery.

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The blaze began near Errwood Reservoir in the Goyt Valley on Wednesday, April 30, at around 11am sending huge plumes of smoke into the air that were visible as far away as central Stockport.

It caused dozens on 999 calls and needed a huge emergency response including police and 10 fire crews.

Firefighters were still tackling the blaze on Thursday morning, using beaters, water backpacks and fogging units on off road vehicles.

The area covered by the fire was away from roads so this made access difficult and emergency services used the Cat and Fiddle - home to the Forest Distillery - as a base.