Firefighters have been dampening down an area of heathland in north Norfolk which was hit by fire on Monday.

And fears have been raised that the long-term future of animals such as adders and lizards could be in danger because of blaze at Salthouse Health, which is between Weybourne and Cley.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue was called to the blaze just after midday on Monday. Although no property was destroyed nor people hurt, the fire destroyed a large part of the heath and took hours to bring under control.

The land is administered by a trust, which is linked to a local parish council. Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT), a separate body, advises the heath trust on conservation.

Helen Baczkowska, the NWT's acting conservation manager, said: “We are extremely saddened to hear of the fire at Salthouse Heath. The site has been recognised as a County Wildlife Site, which reflects its importance to wildlife such as common lizard, adder and slow worm.

“An uncontrolled fire on a heathland site at this time of year is bad news for the site’s wildlife.

"Although the plants at the site may recover relatively quickly but it will be harder for wildlife populations that are already struggling - events like this could significantly damage the long-term prospects for these species."

Ms Baczkowska said it was important to help wildlife adapt to hotter, drier summers amid a long-term trend of warming.

She added: "It is vital that we take action to create better and more joined up spaces for nature with the right management in place to allow wildlife space to roam, as well as providing refuge from events such as these."

A Fire and Rescue spokesman said there were five appliances including pumps and water carriers on the scene today (Tuesday), who were carrying out 'misting' over the site to make sure it did not reignite.

The spokesman said it was not clear how the blaze broke out, but there had been no signs of arson.

He said given the hot conditions it was possible for a fire to break out simply from a car idling on dry grass for five minutes, or by a discarded glass bottle focusing rays of the sun on dried out foliage.

He said: "In the conditions we've been experiencing it is incredibly easy to start a fire without any malicious intent."