A drone operated by 'You'll Never Drone Alone' has shot material which reveals the damage caused by Saturday's marshland fire at Parkgate, along with its proximity to local homes.

The fire broke out at around 6.30 on Saturday evening, and is thought to have been started deliberately.

Police are now investigating and have appealed to the public for information and possible CCTV and dashcam footage - and are particularly keen to speak to four teenagers, three boys and a girl.

By midnight on Saturday, Cheshire Fire and Rescue were saying the fire was mainly extinguished, having spread across an area of one square kilometre.

At 7am yesterday, fire crews confirmed the fire was out, having undertaken a survey of the area with a thermal imaging camera.

The marshland is a popular site of special scientific interest and a haven for birdlife like Cetti's warblers, bittern and bearded tits.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which is responsible for the site, said: "We're shocked and saddened by the fire that has devastated the Neston Reedbed part of our reserve."

She added that marsh harriers were "beginning to build their nests on the marshland which has sadly been lost to fire."

The RSPB said the scale of the damage was being assessed and thanked the emergency services for their response.

RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands tweeted: "We're still hurting from the #fire that ravaged #Neston Reedbed...but we're overwhelmed by the public support."

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Station Manager Carl Nevitt was the officer in charge of the incident. He explained: "The fire covered over one square kilometre of the area and was being driven by wind.

"We created fire breaks to protect properties and the police air support unit was used to give us information on the directional spread of the blaze.

"We were at the scene for some fifteen hours, leaving just before 10am this morning (Sunday 20 March) having monitored the area overnight after the flames were extinguished."

You can see the video by 'You'll Never Drone Alone' on their youtube channel at the top of this page.