Fire crews from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service have attended a "concerning" number of deliberate fires across the county over the summer months.

The Service's firefighters responded to more than 180 fires that were started deliberately since the start of July, 100 more than last year.

In Huntingdonshire alone, there have been nine reports of believed deliberate fires in August so far.

Watch Commander Joe Gacon, the Service’s arson liaison officer, said: “The last month or so has seen a very concerning increase in arson activity around the county.

"Seeing the number of fires happening, particularly with the weather being so hot and dry, is certainly very alarming."

Most recently, a firefighter crew was called to a deliberate fire on August 23 on Edison Bell Way in Huntingdon, with much of the affected field left scorched.

Then a believed deliberate fire on August 20 on Pingle Bank in Holme took more than 30 firefighters and six crews to deal with.

Mr Gacon said: “Arson is a serious crime and can have severe consequences for those that start a fire, no matter how big or how small it is.

"Not only this, but any fire presents significant risks for anyone around the area if it gets out of hand, as well as for the fire crews sent to tackle them."

“Firefighters have faced very demanding conditions as the high temperatures have made it physically challenging to tackle fires, particularly large field fires.

"Windy conditions will also make the fire spread quickly across large areas of land.

"It’s really disappointing that crews have had to attend fires like this that have been started maliciously, meaning they were committed to those incidents and couldn’t respond to other emergencies.”

It has been reported that from some incidents, groups of young people have been seen running from the scene of fires.

Mr Gacon recommends that parents speak to children about the risk of fires and ensure that lighters and matches are kept out of reach, and bulky rubbish is not left in the open.

Mr Gacon added: “We work closely with the police and other partner agencies to try and prevent these types of incidents.

"However, it is clear there is more work to do, and we need help from residents across the county. Reporting a fire, whether deliberate or not, is important so our crews can respond quickly and stop it spreading.”