A Gwynedd woman whose family have paid thousands of pounds for a helicopter to put out a wildfire on their farm says she is angry they were forced to do this.

Alex, Miles and Sian Walkden own Cwm Bychan farm, which has been affected by the fire at the Rhinogydd mountains.

It has been burning for days, and exhausted firefighters have been working around the clock trying to tackle it.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said last week firefighting helicopters were needed to bring the blaze under control, but there was outrage when it was revealed one wouldn't be available for days.

MPs including Liz Saville Roberts called for help from the military but still no aerial action was taken, so the Walkden family felt they had no choice but to find and pay for a helicopter themselves.

Alex said: “I’m angry we had to source and pay for this ourselves. This helicopter pilot does a lot for Dartmoor National Park. I found him and told NRW, but they said he wasn't on their list of cleared pilots so they couldn't use him, so we've had to pay for this ourselves. I don’t want to say how much, but it’s quite substantial.”

The farm has been owned by the Walkden’s for over 40 years.

“We couldn't stand by and watch it all go up in flames,” Alex added.

“The open mountain will recover but the wildlife and 300-year ancient woodland won't.

“There needs to be more conversations about how fires like these are handled in the future.

“We had 70 firefighters here for two days and we’re so grateful to these incredibly brave people. I don’t know how they’re keeping going. 

“So many people have been affected by smoke going down the valley too.”

Jasmine Sharp, NRW North Wales Duty Tactical Manager, said: "We appreciate the goodwill behind the offer of support and understand why people will ask whether any available helicopter could be used to help tackle the fire.

"However, aerial firefighting is a highly specialised and heavily regulated activity. While some operators may carry out other types of work for us, any operator used for wildfire response must meet specific operational, safety and assurance requirements.

"The helicopter offered in this instance was arranged privately and independently of the agreed incident response. Both we and our NWFRS colleagues agreed it would not be appropriate to deploy it for aerial firefighting operations because we had not been able to undertake the same level of assurance required for that activity.

"The activity carried out by the helicopter was not commissioned by us. As a result, we will not be reimbursing costs already incurred or funding any future use of the aircraft in relation to this incident.

"Throughout the incident, we have worked closely alongside our NWFRS colleagues, including on the ground at the scene. This has included helping to identify and create firebreaks to limit the spread of the fire. Thanks to the efforts of everyone involved, the fire is becoming increasingly under control."