Firefighters called to blaze at Oswestry Iron Age hillfort
Shropshire firefighters were called to help tackle a grass fire that had broken out at the Old Oswestry Hill Fort.
Firefighters were called to the Old Oswestry Hill Fort at around 9pm on Saturday (July 26).
One Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service crew was sent to the historic site from Oswestry fire station.
Upon arrival, firefighters found the fire had involved grassland "measuring approximately two metres by one metre" but had been extinguished prior to fire service arrival.
The team remained at the scene and used a knapsack to dampen down the area.
The Old Oswestry Hill Fort was built and occupied during the Iron Age (800 BC to AD 43) and remained in use for almost 1,000 years.
Today, it is one of the best-preserved hillforts in Britain and has been previously described as "the Stonehenge of the Iron Age Period".
The historic site is said to have been the birthplace of Queen Ganhumara – Guinevere of Arthurian legend – and is thought to have links with First World War poet Wilfred Owen, who is believed to have trained on the fort's practice trench network before his posting to the Western Front.
Earlier this year, English Heritage issued a plea after the site became a hotspot for vandals who littered, dug firepits, and used the historic site as a mountain bike track.
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