Hartlepool arson prevention group launches clampdown on illegal bonfires ahead of Guy Fawkes Night

Officials are appealing for help to prevent unauthorised bonfires happening across the town. The Safer Hartlepool Partnership’s Arson Prevention Group, which includes representatives of Hartlepool Borough Council, Cleveland Fire Brigade and Cleveland Police, says there is a number of things that people can do.

They include taking bins in as soon as they have been emptied and removing any combustible materials from outside the boundaries of homes, which can be used to make bonfires.

Ian Harrison from Hartlepool Borough Council, who chairs the arson prevention group, said: “We are aware of instances in previous years, where bins left out after collection have been stolen and used to carry combustible materials to the sites of illegal fires. On other occasions, bins themselves have been put on fires and set alight. Illegal fires pose a serious threat to public safety, so we would ask residents to support our efforts to clampdown on them.”

The group says bonfires are historically built in the same areas of the town each year. Council teams will be out and about removing them, and residents are being asked to report any they notice.

They are also being asked to report fly-tipped rubbish to the council so that it cannot be used to build fires. It can be done at www.hartlepool.gov.uk/fly-tipping or by calling the council’s Fly Tip Off hotline on (01429) 523333. Bonfires can also be reported by using the link above or by calling (01429) 523333.