Arson is slashed in two counties

Deliberately started fires in homes and businesses fell from 247 in 2003/04 to 219 last year, while the number of cars being torched in the two counties also dropped, from 536 to 400.

The number of rubbish tip and field fires nearly halved in the same time - falling from 2,052 to 1,188.

The improvements come after Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority introduced a raft of anti-arson measures, including handing out information packs to schools, working with repeat offenders and extra fire investigation training for staff.

The authority has also worked in partnership with local councils so abandoned cars are towed away as quickly as possible - before they can be set alight.

Mark Carpenter, the area manager responsible for service delivery, said: "We had been set a national target to reduce deliberate fires by 10 per cent. We have already reached that figure and are now stretching it further.

"We have a schools' education programme, where firefighters go into schools and talk about the dangers of starting fires, to raise awareness.

"We also hand out Crimestoppers leaflets at any incident we go to that is being treated as suspicious. We encourage people to contact us and we press for prosecution whenever we can."

The figures were revealed in fire and rescue authority's draft integrated risk assessment plan, which also highlighted the planned relocation of fire stations across the county, as reported in the Worcester News last week.

l Firefighters in Worceste-rshire and Herefordshire reach 49 out of every 50 car crashes and road accidents within 20 minutes, new figures reveal.

The statistics are shown in Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority's draft risk management plan, which sets out their performances and goals.

Fire crews in the two counties have set themselves the target of maintaining the 'high' standards, reaching 98 per cent of incidents in under 20 minutes in the future.