SMOKE billowing from the burning Malvern Hills is thought to have sent a paraglider crashing into the hillside.

The 42-year-old pilot was one of dozens of paragliders taking advantage of the good weather.

But the dry weather and breeze were also responsible for spreading the fire that destroyed five hectares of the hills over the weekend.

The paraglider crashed at a height of about 750ft into the 1,500ft hills.

The fire brigade received 107 calls alerting them to the fire, which may have been started deliberately, in the valley below the Wyche Cutting between the Wyche and the Beacon at around 3pm on Saturday.

The County Air Ambulance was also called to the scene near Perseverance Hill after reports of a paraglider going through a plume of smoke and crashing at about 4.30pm.

"The crew was able to land about 200 yards away but they had to carry him up a fairly steep hill," said an Air Ambulance spokesman.

"They did not have any problems with the smoke."

The man, from London, was airlifted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital with back and chest injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening.

In total, 90 firefighters and 12 fire vehicles, including water carriers, from around the region battled the blaze.

Divisional Fire Officer Ray Rogers said crews tackled the fire by flanking the valley.

Crews remained throughout the night and into Sunday when they used beaters to put out the remnants of the fire.

"This fire didn't start itself and could have caused by something like a discarded cigarette or possibly it was started deliberately," said Mr Rogers.

"People think early spring or late autumn is the time when you are less likely to get the fires but that's just when they happen.

"There is no sap in the grass and there is loads of dead bracken."

Mr Rogers said this was a notorious spot for fires and he had fought blazes there on a number of occasions.

Chris Ray, manager of the Wyche Inn, Wyche Road, said he had first seen the fire when he had gone shopping in Malvern Link.

"It looked like the whole of the hillside was on fire," he said.

Mr Ray was allowed through the roadblock to reach the inn.

The road was opened at about 11pm, and Mr Ray said the area was deserted on what should have been a very busy day for the pub. Police are investigating the fire.

- Two fire crews were staying on the Malvern Hills today as a precautionary measure.

Throughout the night, crews were on hand to monitor the last pockets of fire to make sure they did not flare up. Today's shift took over at 9am.