Fire call outs double year-on-year

The number of fires in York and North Yorkshire in the last two months has more than doubled year-on-year.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had responded to 567 fires between the start of July and 17 August compared to 256 during the same period last year.

Wildfires alone accounted for 32 fires from the beginning of July, with the highest number of call outs in Acomb, Malton and Scarborough.

A service spokesperson said more call outs had placed additional demand on them, affecting firefighters and other areas of work including road risk, community safety and training.

The fire service has called on people going outdoors this summer to leave disposable barbecues at home and avoid lighting campfires in the countryside.

People have also been urged to take litter and especially glass bottles home, dispose of cigarettes and matches safely and park sensibly to keep routes clear for emergency vehicles.

Matches, lighters and flammable material should also be kept out of reach of children who should be told about the dangers of fires, the service has said.

"Once a fire takes hold, it can spread rapidly, threatening people, wildlife, homes, farmland and the firefighters who respond," a spokesperson for the service said.

Extended periods of hot and dry weather have seen wildfires break out across the UK and the government has introduced a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues.

York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith said he had called on shops to stop selling disposable barbecues for weeks before the government ban, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Labour mayor added the move was sensible and would help avoid a repeat of fires which ravaged parts of the North York Moors last year.

Skaith also said he would continue to push for the area's shops to stop selling disposable barbecues permanently.

The Met Office has said forecasts suggest temperatures could be above average in some parts of the country again in early September.

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