ABOUT 500 square metres of heather and straw was destroyed in a fire which was started deliberately on a field near a railway embankment on the Wrexham to Shrewsbury line.

A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the blaze on Monday had ripped through a field off Llangollen Road and spread to the nearby embankment at Acrefair.

Neither the fire service nor North Wales Police, however, are mounting any further investigations.

Emergency services were called to the field just before 3.30pm.

Fire crews from Wrexham and Chirk battled to control the flames and to minimise the effect on the railway line.

A spokesman for Network Rail, which is charge of the line, said train drivers were advised to slow down as they passed the fire, which had slightly affected the timetable.