Firefighters battled a series of fires on Dartmoor in the spring

The Moorland Association said more than 30,000 acres of moorland were destroyed by fire earlier this year.

It says restricting access to areas such as Dartmoor during hot and dry weather would help prevent fires from breaking out.

Chairman Simon Bostock said landowners in Derbyshire had control over access, and action now needed to be taken nationally.

He said: "The areas that didn't close in the spring perhaps should have closed.

"The losses that can be occasioned by landowners because of fires are absolutely enormous."

He denied that the move was aimed at restricting new right to roam countryside access rights for walkers.

"We are talking about properly managed access.

"Badly managed access which fails to manage in the face of fire risk can cause immense damage to the environment, and that's our real concern.

"We are not fighting a battle any longer over access rights."