THE number of arson attacks and car fires has more than doubled in parts of County Durham over the last four years.

The spike in deliberate fires in east Durham has seen the number of incidents rise by 127 per cent, from 107 four years ago to 253 this year, with around two thirds involving cars.

To tackle the issue, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, Durham Police and Durham County Council has launched a campaign “Enough is Enough” in arson hot spots including Shotton Colliery, Horden, Wingate, Station Town, Wheatley Hill and Peterlee.

Jo Farrell, Durham’s deputy chief constable, said: “Arson damages our communities, it damages property but, above all, it puts people’s lives at risk.

“Our communities shouldn’t have to put up with that, which is why we are doing everything we can to deal with the problem and keep people safe.”

Phil Innis, district fire manager for Easington, said: “It’s taking up a lot of resources but more than that is the impact on the community.

“It’s having a detrimental impact of people’s lives and it’s bringing the feeling of the area down.”

Police officers, fire fighters and councillors visited Shotton Colliery yesterday to see the impact arson is having in parts of the community.

Parish councillor and police volunteer Stephen Maitland, who showed people around, said: “We’ve had about 47 cars burnt out in two or three years. People were fearing for their lives. It was getting to the point where we didn’t know where it was going to come from next.

“I hope the community can embrace this. Shotton has a very good community spirit but these fires do give us a bad name.”

Copy cat offending, antisocial behaviour and use by serious crime groups has been blamed for the rise.

The campaign is going to be promoted in affected communities over Easter.

Assistant chief fire officer Dominic Brown said: “We’ve deliberately launched the campaign to coincide with National Arson Awareness Week and the lead up to the Easter holidays, when traditionally we see a spike in deliberate fires.

“If our firefighters continue to deal with this volume of fires, it may delay their response to genuine emergencies.

"This campaign is about harnessing the strong community spirit in these areas and letting residents know we are here to work with them to tackle these issues."

Durham county councillor Lucy Hovvels said: “We are looking forward to continuing the work we already do with partners to keep County Durham one of the safest places in the country to live, through 'Enough is Enough.'

"Deliberately setting things on fire can put people in real danger while there is the potential for pollution. Burnt out cars and other items also spoil the appearance of our beautiful county."