A COMBINE harvester has been destroyed by fire today as the heatwave continued in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said its firefighters had been kept busy all day dealing with a series of incidents, including the combine blaze in a field near Byland Abbey, Helmsley, this morning, which was caused by overheating of the engine.

Lineside grass was also set alight by a spark from a passing steam train on a railway line in Horton in Ribblesdale and there were two small grass fires, reported by someone on the castle walls at Scarborough, which were out on firefighters' arrival.

Crews were also called to a hay baler on fire in a field of stubble at Eppleby, Richmond, which spread to an area of approximately 200 metres by 300 metres of grass and a number of round bales of straw.

There was also a call-out to a ruptured propane gas pipe behind a McDonads restaurant at Ripon. The valve was switched off and a gas engineer called.