A helicopter drops water bombs in south Wales

Firefighters tackling the blaze in the Baglan area of Port Talbot were able to get it under control and by dawn it was safe enough to allow the householders back.

But it had taken a huge effort by 80 firefighters to stop the two-mile wall of fire in its tracks.

"It's been in people's back gardens and burning down the fences - that's how close it's come," said county fire chief Philip Bailey.

West and south Wales have been the worst affected areas as ground, which has not seen rain for four weeks, is tinderbox dry.

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The brigade says the risk to life and property has receded but flames are still fanning out on the top of Bwlch mountain.

Blazes also raged in Staffordshire, Isle of Harris, Ayrshire and the Peak District.

Firefighters are hoping cooler weather on Saturday and rain in the evening will dampen the flames.

In Ayrshire, the fire brigade is tackling the biggest blaze of its kind for 20 years.

It has not rained in the region for two months and strong winds are whipping up the flames.

After working round the clock since Thursday, they have been joined by crews from neighbouring Lothian and Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.

It can advance faster than we can run Phil Robinson Strathclyde Fire Brigade

Despite water bombing from the air, homes there still may need to be evacuated as the fire nears the town of Darvel.

Strathclyde Fire Brigade's assistant firemaster, Phil Robinson said: "It is a very difficult type of fire to fight because of the weather conditions, the dryness and the vegetation.

"The weather is so hot and everything is so dry it could have been started by a cigarette end or anything.

"Being one of the largest brigades in Europe we are able to cope with this but it really is stretching our resources."

Mr Robinson said the blaze was not endangering homes at the moment, but given the wind direction and speed of the fire, that was a potential threat.

"If any homes are likely to be involved, they will be evacuated long before there is any danger to life," he said.

Meanwhile, people in the Western Isles of Scotland are waiting to hear if the village of Leverburgh, is to be evacuated.

Five fire crews are trying to contain a "serious" blaze rapidly spreading towards homes on the south tip of the Isle of Harris.

It is the latest of more than 100 fires to hit the Highlands during the Easter period.

Farms threatened

Fire crews remain at two large fires in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

One, burning since 1200 BST on Friday, brought 100 firefighters to grassland at The Roaches.

Moorland fires are also threatening farmhouses in northern England's Peak District.

Meanwhile in south Wales, police and fire officers have launched a joint investigation into a blaze that led to the evacuation of dozens of residents in Gwent, including some at a children's home.

It is believed to have been started deliberately.

Hundreds of mature trees and a large area of bracken, gorse and shrubs were destroyed as the fire ripped through a two-mile stretch between Cwmfelinfach and the A467 at Wattsville.

In Cornwall, firefighters spent Friday afternoon tackling a large gorse fire at St Newlyn East near Newquay.

At the height of the fire, the flames covered almost a mile of land.