Morning Sir Keir,

I am a Whitby resident. Whitby is a major tourist destination in England and has one of the highest footfalls of tourists.

Our beautiful moorland has been burning for two weeks now. A few nights ago there was thick black smoke over the town. The fire has now reached the outskirts of town and is spreading towards Scarborough. People have been evacuated from a caravan park, a mine, horses have been evacuated and major roads closed. There has been untold loss to animal life on the Moors.

Despite this catastrophe, the area has been left to fend for itself relying on brave fire crew, volunteers and farmers at their busiest time of year. Some of these people have been working 12 hours and I saw one poor fireman filling up the tank of his truck covered in soot and looking exhausted.

Why is this not a national priority? Why have we not been sent any assistance from outside the county? The government talks about improving the  socioeconomic  disparities that impact coastal towns, and yet here we are alone and forgotten.

There must also be some form of financial support or compensation to the farmers who have spent time and used their own resources in fighting the fire.

Additionally, can the government please look at what measures will be put into place to prevent this from happening again next summer.

Please can you take action now!