Appeal for information after firefighters tackle blaze on Eston Hills

The battle to put an end to fires being started on Eston Hills continues after firefighters battled a blaze.

Cleveland Fire Brigade and officers from Cleveland Police were called to the beauty spot on Saturday afternoon following reports of the blaze. At its height, five fire appliances attended.

And once the fire was out, Eston’s neighbourhood police team took to social media to appeal for information about how it started.

Urging people to share and retweet information about the blaze, the Facebook message read: “If you have any information on who may have started the fire which could put people’s lives, businesses in danger please let us know.”

Eston Hills is regularly targeted by arsonists, especially in the summer months and during school holidays.

Over the years, campaigns to deter youngsters from starting fires there have been carried out. Cleveland Fire Brigade has also used a specialist 120ft-high CCTV camera to look for suspicious behaviour and fires in the area.

Speaking last year, John Feeney, Cleveland Fire Brigade’s district manager for Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough, said: “Deliberate grass and moorland fires are reckless in the extreme. They damage our beautiful countryside and divert our resources away from dealing with real emergencies where lives may be at risk.

“Arson accounts for around 70% of fires across Cleveland and this is why the brigade continues to work very closely with the police, other key organisations and local communities to put a stop to it once and for all.

“We do target resources into areas where deliberate grass fires are most prevalent and patrols are being stepped up following these recent incidents.”

As reported last year, a spate of destructive grass blazes on Eston Hills and across Teesside cost Cleveland Fire Brigade £108,000 in less than a month.

From March 1 to March 17, there were 54 grass or moorland fires within Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough - including 14 on Eston Hills. This prompted Marty Challenor, watch manager at Grangetown fire station, to launch a campaign to educate youngsters on the damage the fires cause and discourage them from setting them.

Marty, who has worked at Grangetown for 14 years, said: “We are going into schools and taking appliances around the area to let the youngsters know how dangerous their actions are.

“It is a long-standing problem, but we are seeing more fires recently. It is very dangerous, and it also ties up resources that should be put to better use elsewhere. It takes us at least 10 to 15 minutes to get up to the hills, then we are in our off-road vehicle and have to get to where the fire is. We need a crew of at least four, often more, and they cannot respond to calls for things like house fires if we are putting out a grass fire.”

Cleveland Fire Brigade was also called to a blaze on land at Ormesby Hall over the weekend, during which the crew that attended received verbal abuse from youths.

If you have any information about the incidents call Eston Police Station on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.