Cork man tried to beat back furze fire with shovel

Man ordered to pay €600 into poor box after fire took place three days outside permitted time

March 1 to August 30 is a period where the burning of land is prohibited as it is an important time for nesting birds and their chicks.

A farmer set fire to furze on his own land in Kells, Co Kerry, but he panicked when it got out of control and a conservation ranger encountered him trying to beat it back with a shovel.

At Cork District Court, 44-year-old Maurice Bowler pleaded guilty to a charge contrary to the Wildlife Act of setting fire to uncultivated vegetation three days outside the permitted six-month period for such burning.