THE dangers created by tinder dry grass verges catching fire have been captured on camera by a York minibus firm.

A driver from Anytime Travel, Jason King, was crossing the Pennines on the M62 when he came across the fire close to the hard shoulder.

The footage shows a plume of smoke reducing visibility for drivers.

Jason said he was travelling back from Manchester Airport yesterday when he saw the smoke half a mile ahead.

"Everyone was slowing down," he said. "It was blowing across the motorway. You could see the fire engines coming the other way to it. Luckily I managed to get through. You can hear it crackling on the video."

The firm's boss Steve Harris said he understood the road had to be closed shortly after the minibus passed by, causing lengthy tailbacks.

Firefighters have been busy tackling several grass and crop blazes today in North Yorkshire, including a standing crop of corn between Sharow and Dishforth, a small area of scrubland on Ouse Bank, close to the river walk in Selby, and grass smouldering near allotments in Burton Stone Lane, York.