A helicopter drops water bombs in south Wales

The recent dry weather and high winds have been blamed for the spread of fires throughout the UK.

And although many fires had been extinguished or had died out by Saturday evening, some in Wales and Scotland were still causing concern.

Fire crews were battling a 10-mile wall of heath fire at Salen near Fort William, although no homes were in immediate danger.

Firefighters in the Western Isles had to pull away from a blaze on the Barvas moor on Lewis for their own safety, after winds picked up and changed direction.

Crews were also still monitoring a blaze in Leverburgh on the Isle of Harris.

FORES FIRES Your pictures of blazing moorland and forests In pictures

But an eight-mile-square forest fire near Darvel - the biggest of its kind in the area for decades - appeared to be under control after keeping Ayrshire crews at full stretch for some hours.

In Wales, a fire at Baglan, near Port Talbot - where several homes were evacuated on Friday night - was still being attended by eight crews on Saturday evening.

A spokeswoman for Mid and West Wales Fire Service said: "There are other fires all over the place. Unfortunately it is still quite dry and we are hoping for rain tomorrow."

Arson suspected

A spokeswoman for Gwent and South Wales fire service said: "It is the volume of grass fires that is the problem... it is difficult to cope with all the fires at once. Light showers will not be enough to stop them."

Earlier, five people were arrested over a grass fire near the village of Llaneradach near Caerphilly. They have been released on police bail pending further enquires.

South Wales fire crews said many of the hundreds of fires reported appeared to have been started deliberately by children.

There are other fires all over the place - unfortunately it is still quite dry and we are hoping for rain tomorrow Mid and West Wales Fire Service

In England, moorland fires in Staffordshire and Derbyshire's Peak District had been damped down by Saturday evening.

And In Northern Ireland, firefighters had dealt with most of the 500 gorse fires reported in less than 24 hours - five times the usual amount for this time of year.

Six teenagers feared missing following a forest fire in County Antrim were found safe and well.

Forecasters said the weather was expected to turn on Sunday, with winds dying down and heavier showers spreading across the country.

Large-scale fires that broke out in Dorset, Cornwall and Surrey had been extinguished by Saturday.