Action taken over grass fires in South Tyneside
Community safety chiefs are going into schools as part of ongoing work to tackle a rising number of deliberate grassland and rubbish fires in parts of South Tyneside.
It comes after the latest meeting of Hebburn Community Area Forum (CAF) heard there had been increasing numbers of deliberate secondary blazes in the region over recent months.
These are incidents which feature smaller outdoor fires not involving people or property.
Figures provided by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service chiefs at the meeting stated there were 20 deliberate fires in the Hebburn CAF area in April 2025, up from 11 in the same period last year.
All of these were classed as secondary fires, including six involving small rubbish and recycling containers, five loose refuse and four seeing trees being set fire to.
In March 2025 there were 17 deliberate fires in the Hebburn CAF area, up from eight compared to 12 months prior.
In total 16 of these incidents were classed as secondary blazes, with seven involving loose refuse, four being classed as scrubland fires, two involving trees and one grassland.
There was also one deliberate fire involving a vehicle.
Sammy Doak, council community safety and tenancy enforcement team assistant manager, added in recent weeks fires being started on grass and scrubland during dry spells has been one of the “main issues” for the team in the area.
Speaking at the meeting, he said: “We are working with the police, fire service and schools to address this.
“We are going into schools, we are giving them the messages about fire safety and starting fires.
“Its about educating the people around the dangers of setting fires, so that’s positive, that’s being done by the community safety partnership.”
He added the partnership includes the likes of “the council, the fire service, the police, all those partners working together to get some positive results.”
Reports from fire services bosses which went before a Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority policy and performance committee meeting in March noted deliberate fires are an “ongoing concern” across the region.
They added it is an issue which had therefore “been a focus of prevention and education work” with partner agencies.
People can anonymously report information about deliberate fire setting to FireStoppers online at www.firestoppersreport.co.uk or by calling 0800 169 5558.