A campaign has been launched to help tackle deliberate fires as crews enter “the busiest time” of the year for such incidents.

Cleveland Fire Brigade has put in place a spring period prevention plan which runs until the end of April and aims to reduce the numbers of deliberate blazes seen across the area.

It comes after last year, during the period from March 22 to April 28, 394 secondary fires were recorded, which are generally small outdoor fires not involving people or property of value, of which 350 were deemed deliberate.

Hartlepool saw the highest number of such reported incidents of any district in the brigade area with 136, including 121 deliberate blazes.

Speaking at the latest meeting of Cleveland Fire Authority, Robin Turnbull, lead for prevention and protection, said: “We’ve had quite a few dormant months with activity through the winter.

“When we reach this time of the year, this point of the year, it is by far, without question the busiest time for us.

“We’ve had a really good year in relation to performance for deliberate fires… but in light of heading into an expected really busy period of activity, it’s just important that we push our spring campaign.”

He added so far this year across the area the brigade has seen an 18 per cent reduction in deliberate primary fires, and a 36 per cent drop in deliberate secondary fires, compared to the year prior.

Key activities to be carried out as part of the spring campaign include firefighters and education officers going into schools in hot spot areas to deliver presentations around the dangers of deliberate fires.

Other work will include providing community skips and encouraging crews to report fly-tipping to help reduce rubbish fires, along with supporting local authorities with patrols in key areas.

The five-year average for secondary fires during the period from March 22-April 28 across the Cleveland area is 643, with the peak being 1,046 in 2021.

Residents can report information regarding deliberate fires anonymously by contacting FireStoppers at https://forms.theiline.co.uk/firestoppers or on 0800 169 5558.