Firefighters who battled a blaze in a nature reserve on Tuesday night have issued an urgent warning as the weather gets warmer.
Fire crews from Peterlee spent an hour extinguishing a grass fire which broke out in Castle Eden Dene at around 9pm on April 20.
It's one of a total of 231 such grass fires attended by County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service so far this month - up from 93 across the whole of March.
While some of these fires may have been started due to carelessness with the likes of cigarette ends, others are being started "deliberately", firefighters have warned.
The warning comes as forecasters predict the UK could enjoy the "hottest week of the year".
CDDFRS Area Manager Keith Wanley, head of community risk management said: “We are aware of a number of instances of deliberate fires being started across the county in recent weeks and together with our partners in the police and local councils we would urge whoever is destroying our beautiful countryside to think about their actions.
“With warmer weather forecast in the coming weeks, we would like to remind all residents of the dangers of starting a fire in the open. What may start as a small campfire or bonfire can very quickly get out of control after periods of dry weather, which allows fire to spread incredibly quickly, putting lives at risk.
“Fires such as these also take our valuable resources away from emergency situations and tie our crews up, sometimes for hours.
"To help us tackle these types of fires we would like to urge anyone with information around deliberate fires to call Firestoppers anonymously on 0800 169 5558 or report online https://bit.ly/2GIqZML ”
