A FIRE brigade is asking parents to remind their children of the danger of setting fires in farmers' fields during the summer holidays.

The plea comes after two fires were started in fields on the outskirts of Darlington last week.

Rural anti-crime campaigners have warned that arsonists who are caught will be prosecuted.

Crime prevention group Darlington Rural Watch, which covers the countryside surrounding the town, has been operating for five years.

It works closely with the police to gather intelligence about people committing offences on farmland.

Darlington Rural Watch chairman Brian Pavey, a local gamekeeper, said that within 24 hours at the end of last week there were two incidents in which cornfields and bales of hay were set on fire.

In one attack, in the Barmpton area, the blaze spread and destroyed a fence.

The other cornfield was in the North Road area, on the edge of the town, where about six acres of land were scorched.

Mr Pavey said the fires happened as farmers, many of whom are Darlington Rural Watch members, were gathering in the harvest.

He said: "The farmers are determined to see someone caught and action taken against them for this. We are working with the police to make sure that the arsonists are apprehended. The farmers are determined to see these people taken to court."

Brett Clayton, Red Watch station manager at Darlington Fire Station, said firefighters believed the blazes had been started by children, and urged parents to explain the dangers of setting fires in fields.

"These acts of arson not only damage the farmers' crops, which causes monetary loss, it also takes up firefighters' time, puts lives at risk and causes damage to property," he said.

"All it needs is a change of wind direction and, particularly at this time of year, it is amazing how fast a fire like this can spread.

"It is so dangerous, because a small fire in a field can very quickly spread to railway lines, roads, houses, and put a number of lives at risk."

Anyone with information about anyone who may have started fires on farmland or among crops is asked to contact Darlington police on (01325) 467681.