Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is calling on the public for "urgent" support to protect the region's wildlife and habitats from fire damage.

The trust has launched an appeal to raise £15,000 this summer to fund work including fire prevention measures, habitat restoration, and ongoing care for vulnerable sites.

The plea follows a series of fires over several years, including at The Roaches, Ipstones Edge and last month at Snake Pass (in Derbyshire).

Charlie Forrest-King, a Heathlands Officer at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, said: "Fires are one of the biggest threats to our nature reserves.

"We're working hard to reduce the risk through better peatland restoration, firebreaks and public awareness. When fires do happen, with training and equipment we can act quickly to reduce the risk, but the damage is immediate and severe.

"We need support to restore these places and give nature a fighting chance to recover."

Charlie, who works at Gentleshaw Common in Rugeley, explained that while vegetation grows back following fires, it can take several years to restore the peat layers underneath.

This can be devastating to the rare wildlife species that live on these sites.

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"The spaces have gotten smaller and smaller and smaller over the years," Charlie added.

"We used to have a lot less fragmentation between the heathlands so species could transfer from one site to the other a lot easier.

"Whereas now they're so broken up in between that these species have really got their little strongholds and they're holding on a lot of them.

"For us to protect those special sites is really, really important."

The Trust is stepping up efforts to prevent future fires as well as work to restore habitats already ravaged by fire.

The Roaches during the 2018 fire that has caused lasting damage to the site (image via Rod Kirkpatrick)

In the Moorlands, habitats include those of rare ground-nesting birds such as curlew and lapwings, as well as many species of plants including bog asphodel, heather and sphagnum moss.

Volunteer John Pears, who has spent years caring for The Roaches which was damaged by a large fire in 2018, said: "I'll never forget my first visit after the fire. It was gut wrenching to see everything gone".

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John added: "To see all our hard work go up in flames was incredibly demoralising.

"We'd created a space for special wildlife that has nowhere else to go. So much was lost in the fire.

"You feel helpless, and it's a constant worry it might happen again. What's at stake can't be underestimated – it takes decades for peat to form and you can still see the scorch marked peat today."

Restoring The Roaches following the fire is an ongoing team effort. Dedicated volunteers have planted thousands of sphagnum moss plug plants - a peat creating plant that can hold around 20 times its weight in water - covering 687m2 (27.5 hectares).

More than 30,000 other staple moorland plants, such as cotton grass, have also been planted.

Other work to restore the rare and precious blanket bog habitat has included blocking artificial drainage ditches by installing over 600 dams to hold water back and rewet the peat.

Similar restoration work is taking place across Staffordshire Wildlife Trust sites including the planting of around 5,000 sphagnum moss plug plantsat Gentleshaw Common which experienced a fire of about 3.4 hectares last year.

The Trust is now hoping to raise funds through their donation page to protect their sites as longer and hotter summers are increasing the risk of severe moorland fires.

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Charlie Forrest-King also offered two pieces of advice for members of the public visiting wildlife sites: "If you see any smoke or flames, even if you think someone has already possibly called, phone 999.

"The quicker the firefighters can get out there, the quicker we can get the fires out and make the area safe again.

"And then the second piece of advice would be to pack a picnic and not a BBQ."

To donate and support the appeal, visit the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust website here or call 01889 880100.