weekend -- their third since Thursday.

Three fire tenders rushed to the scene around 9 a.m. on Saturday after a smouldering area of the marsh -- a hot spot -- ignited.

A spokesman for the Fire Service said yesterday: "The area has been quite dry -- hopefully it's been damped down by the rain we've had.'' Fire ravaged an area 300 feet by 500 feet on Thursday, with nearly 40 firefighters brought into action to control the outbreak.

But Government experts said it was unlikely any permanent damage had been done to the marsh and the fire would probably benefit it in the long run.

A fresh blaze at the scorched marsh broke out on Friday morning, involving more than 30 firefighters.

The fire is understood to have been started by another hot spot erupting into flames.

The fire was out by Friday afternoon, but the Fire Service's Lt. John Thompson said crews remained at the scene for several hours to damp down other potential trouble spots.