HOAX callers are a growing problem for Wyre Forest's firefighters with another spate of nuisance calls made over the weekend.

A spokesman at Kidderminster Fire Station said "seven or eight" malicious calls had been received - mostly from Stourport.

This continued a growing trend, which firefighters have blamed on young people using mobile phones which they think cannot be traced.

"It takes at least five minutes to get to a job and when calls are made from Stourport we have to call out retained firefighters, which means you have 10 crew members all trying to get to the station and then trying to get into an appliance," the spokesman said.

"They then have to investigate, checking out where the call was made from and whether anyone was seen, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes - it wastes a lot of time."

The problem has been growing over the past few weeks and firefighters have warned they will seek to trace and prosecute offenders.