Tuesday, March 10, 2015

View: Dramatic aerial pictures show extent of fires on Eston Hills


Police helicopter was dispatched to monitor fires started by youths on Eston Hills VIEW GALLERY


These dramatic pictures show the extent of the fires on Eston Hills.


Durham Tees Valley National Police Air Service (NPAS) has released these aerial pictures of the Teesside beauty spot, which is being repeatedly targeted by arsonists.


Firefighters were called to Eston Hills at 3pm on Sunday following reports from “several members of the public” who had seen youngsters setting fires.


Police were later requested to help and called for the helicopter’s help to search for suspects and to assess the incident from above.


Speaking yesterday, David Turton, head of community safety at Cleveland Fire Brigade, said as fire crews were putting one fire out, another was being lit.


He went on to liken the situation to a game of “cat and mouse”.


“It is very frustrating for us,” he said.


At its height, a quarter of Cleveland Fire Brigade’s engines were at the scene, fighting the pockets of flames.


Crews left the scene as darkness fell due to safety reasons.


They returned yesterday and will continue to do so to check on the situation as the fire can remain in the undergrowth for days.


Fire crews were also called to the hills yesterday to deal with a further blaze.


Firefighters were called at 3.40pm after reports of a fresh blaze, with one fire engine and a 4x4 vehicle attending.


These incident are the latest in a series to hit Eston Hills in recent weeks - with the site having become a blackspot over the years.


Cleveland Police is continuing to hunt for Sunday’s arsonists and has had the names of youths believed to be responsible given to them.


Anyone with information about the blazes on the hills should call police on 101.



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