Dramatic drone footage shows huge 500 acre wildfire in Wales - size of 300 football pitches

Dramatic drone footage shows the huge scale of a wildfire covering almost 500 acres in Wales.

Crews from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) have been dealing with the blaze for the past three days after receiving initial calls on Sunday evening.

It has broken out at Mynydd Garnclochdy, between Abersychan and Blaenavon in Torfaen, South Wales.

Drone footage shared yesterday by the service shows the massive size of the fire, which is covering 200 hectares of mixed land of bracken and gorse land.

That is about the size of 300 football pitches.

Thick plumes of white smoke can also be seen filling the air and have since urged people to keep their windows and doors closed.

In an update yesterday SWFRS said: "SWFRS is utilising a range of specialist tactics to deal with the significant wildfire which is ongoing in Blaenavon.

"Now covering more than 200 hectares, the fire is across mixed land including fern, gorse and bracken, with a 5km perimeter.

"Specialist officers are using tactical burns to manage the spread of the wildfire and with the support of local farmers, cutting fire breaks.

"Other equipment being used includes 4x4 vehicles, drones and i-cutters to manage the vegetation.

"Smoke from the incident has been significant at times, and the current wind direction is likely to see communities towards Nant-y-Glo and Brynmawr affected this evening.

"SWFRS is advising anyone impacted to close their windows and doors until the smoke disperses.

"SWFRS would like to thank partner agencies for their co-operation and support during this incident, including Natural Resources Wales, Public Health Wales, local authorities, local health boards and police.

"We are all working together to bring this incident to a close. "

SWFRS has since said that they have received calls about smells of smoke from as far away as Caerphilly and Cardiff around 25 miles away.