Unknown persons tried to set fire to a BirdLife billboard at Ghadira and are also believed to have started a fire at the nearby nature reserve.

The police confirmed this morning that flammable liquid had been found near a BirdLife billboard near the Danish Village in Ghadira. The lower part of the billboard was damaged.

Meanwhile some 75 metres of vegetation, mostly shrubs, was destroyed by fire at the Ghadira nature reserve.

"We were lucky that the ground was wet, otherwise the flames would have spread faster and we would have had much more serious damage," a BirdLife spokesman told timesofmalta.com. He said the flames were noticed by a watchman who alerted firefighters, who were quickly on the scene.

Magistrate Dr. A Vella is leading an inquiry.

BirdLife last week set up a number of billboards with statements against bird trapping.