Motorists were advised to avoid an area surrounding a grassland fire in County Durham this afternoon as police while firefighters dealt with the incident.
Emergency services were called to land near the Plough Inn at Pelton at around 3.30pm this afternoon to a fire burning on around 5,000 square metres of land.
The main road leading to the site, Pelton Lane, was shut in both directions by Durham Police and motorists were being turned back.
Read more: LIVE: Huge fire in County Durham as plumes of thick smoke seen for miles
Four crews from Durham, Consett, Wheatley Hill and Bishop Auckland tackled the fire and residents in the area had been told to shut their doors and windows due to the smoke.
The road was reopened at about 6.30pm.
Hot weather is understood to be responsible for the spread of several wildfires across the region today.
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