Suspected arsonists have devastated part of a popular Teesside nature reserve – killing birds and scorching an area of marshland.

A large section of Coatham Marsh in Redcar, which is home to many species of flora, fauna and wildlife, including many nesting birds, was set alight at about 6pm last night, Thursday, June 26. The blaze, which took firefighters nearly two hours to extinguish, covered the area with thick smoke and caused the cancellation of train services due to pass nearby.

A large area of grassland and reedbed habitat – roughly around the size of two football pitches – has been badly damaged, with devastating impacts to wildlife. It’s suspected various ground-nesting birds, including reed buntings and reed warblers, will have perished in the flames.