PARENTS are being urged to help Cleveland Fire Brigade continue to reduce the number of deliberate fires they are force to tackle.

The plea comes after figures for the Easter holiday break last year showed a 61 per cent decrease on 2015.

Phil Lancaster, director of community protection at the brigade, said: “We want to continue this welcome downturn and once again we ask parents to make sure they know what their children are doing and make sure they are staying out of trouble.

“This is the first big school break of the year and the longer days and warmer weather means more young people are outside and for some this results in irresponsible behaviour.

“Make no mistake, deliberate fire-setting is a blight on the whole community. Buildings, wheelie bins, rubbish and grasslands have all been targeted in recent years. This can cause serious damage and divert our resources away from real emergencies.”

Last year there was 101 deliberate fires – down from 256 the previous year.