Each water drum dropped by the helicopter contains 50 gallons

Much of the fire on Fylingdales Moor has died down with North Yorkshire fire service now dealing with "hot spots" that are still burning.

On Friday, a helicopter was used to drop water onto areas of the burning moorland near Robin Hoods Bay that were out of reach of conventional firefighting.

A fire service spokeswoman said officers are deciding whether to use the helicopter again over the weekend.

This was the biggest fire on the North York Moors in living memory and covered an area of around five square miles.

The fire covers an area of around five square miles

It is thought to have been started by a discarded cigarette in a waste bin on the A171.

On Saturday morning, fresh fire crews were sent to the moors to relieve their colleagues who had been on duty all night.

No one has been hurt and no property damaged by the fire.

But there is worry about the environmental impact it will have on the moors and their wildlife.

While heather moors are sometimes deliberately burned for management purposes, this is only ever done in the spring to allow green shoots to come through.

It is never done in autumn and this week's fire has burned itself deep into the earth.

The cost of fighting the fire is likely to run into several thousands of pounds as the North Yorkshire fire service had to bring in reinforcements from Humberside, West Yorkshire and Cleveland.

Hiring the helicopter cost �10,000 for one day.