A NORTH-EAST fire brigade is giving away free cigarette lighters to smokers living in an accident hotspot.

The lighters carry a fire brigade hotline telephone number and are being distributed to smokers in Eston, on Teesside, in the hope they will dial for safety advice.

Tony Churchill, Grangetown's station manager, said: "We decided to aim at this high-risk group in Eston as this is the place where we have the highest smoking related incidents.

"We know that smokers are at a higher risk of fires and, if we can't stop them smoking, at least we can give them tips to reduce the risk of fire if they opt for a free home fire safety check."

A fire safety team is targeting Eston's social clubs and pubs, the traditional preserves of smokers.

Mr Churchill said: "The firefighters who came up with the idea of the lighters realised that working men's clubs do tend to have a high concentration of smokers. The lighters are an ideal way to get to this group of people."

Cleveland Fire Brigade is reinforcing the message with a poster campaign.

Mr Churchill said: "We want to work with the community to reduce deaths and injuries caused by fire and get our messages across.

"These clubs and pubs are now working in partnership with us and we hope to receive plenty of phone calls from people requesting home fire safety checks."

Fiona Dunlop, of Smoke Free North East, said: "This initiative highlights the fact that the content of cigarettes is not the only danger to smokers' health.

"Fifteen people in the North East die every day as a result of a smoking-related disease and carelessly discarded smoking materials can also be lethal.

"Our advice to smokers is that giving up is the best way to reduce the risk of damaging your health. Highly effective NHS services to help people kick the habit are available free of charge."

A spokesman for Langbaurgh Primary Care Trust, said: "The trust appreciates that most house fires are caused by cigarette-related incidents and welcome any moves to reduce the risk."