Appeal after 'deliberate' fires at country park

A fire service is appealing for information after a series of "deliberate" fires at a country park in the past week.

Firefighters have been called out to blazes at Park Hall Country Park on Hulme Road in Stoke-on-Trent.

Ben Sourbutts, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said there were 137 deliberate fires so far in July across the county, some of which have taken "considerable resources" to put out.

"This is a period of considerable resource use for us, and an increased level of incidents cross the city and the county as a whole," he said.

"These deliberate fires that we're experiencing obviously take our resources and our firefighters away from vital and potentially life-threatening incidents that we do need to be responding to."

There have been a large rise in the number of grass fires, wildfires and outdoor fires during the recent dry and hot weather.

Last year saw a 70% increase on the year before, he said, and a further increase was expected this year too.

"It's just horrendous - the loss of wildlife, the loss of wild trees and things," said walker Jules Heyhoe.

"It's just quite barren in comparison to what it always is normally."

"It sickens you, doesn't it? I come twice a day up here, walking the dogs," Julian Read added. "It's all the wildlife that's losing its habitat as well."

"It's devastating isn't it? But what can you do?" asked Roy Bradbury.

"Many of these fires are accidental and they're caused by carelessness. They're caused by the dropping of litter, the dropping of cigarettes, the use of barbecues [and] disposal of garden waste through small bonfires," Sourbutts added.

"Because we've had this extra hot and dry weather these fires can become out of control extremely easily."

He said that while firefighters understood people wanted to enjoy the nice weather, knowing the pressure this caused for the emergency services put a different perspective on the summer months.

He urged people with information to contact the police with any information about deliberate fires to bring those responsible to justice.

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