STEAM engines run by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway have been replaced by diesel locomotives to prevent fires on the moor.

The steam engines running between Levisham and Goathland will be temporarily replaced.

A spokesman for the railway said: "Due to the high fire risk we have been asked by the fire service to refrain from running steam engines in certain parts of the line and these are subsituted by diesel locomotives. This is due to remain in force until the extremely dry conditions end."

The move came after firefighters battled for seven hours to put out a moorland blaze caused by a spark from a steam engine.

Thirty-eight hectares of the North Yorkshire Moors were destroyed last week and ten appliances from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were scrambled into action.

More than 200 acres of heather moors between Swainby and Osmotherley were damaged by another fire.

The tinder dry conditions on the Moors and Dales have led to renewed warnings.

Moors spokesman Mike Pratt said: "Even if we get the rain, the water will run straight off the moors as the ground is bone-dry. The public needs to be very vigilant."

Wharfedale's Barden Moor and Fell have also been closed.