Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has launched a new campaign to highlight the dangers of deliberately starting grass fires.
The service tends to see a dangerous increase in grass fires over the Easter Holidays which is put down to children and teenagers starting fires deliberately.
Last Easter there were 215 grass fires across Staffordshire during the school break, including eight in Stafford Borough, which includes Stone.
This year, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service are hoping to educate young people about the dangers of starting fires deliberately and have designed a poster which has been distributed to schools across the county.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s head of risk reduction, Ian Sloss, said: “Young people who start grass fires seem oblivious to the fact that they are endangering their own lives as well as firefighters.
“A grass fire can quickly spread and it does not take much for clothing to set on fire and before you know it, you have horrific burns which could claim your life.
“For every call we receive about a grass fire there could be a person desperately trying to get out of a burning building or trapped in a car crash in urgent need of our assistance.
“We work closely with partners to address the reasons for this type of crime and we hope by using role models, such as the footballers, we can educate young people about the dangers of playing with fire.”
