FIRE chiefs have urged parents to educate their children on the dangers of fire in a heatwave after youngsters were seen setting a hedgerow ablaze by a Bewdley park.

Firefighters from Wyre Forest Fire Station were alerted to a fire in the open at Bark Hill play area on Sunday July 17 at around 8.28pm.

A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue service said: “Children seen lighting a fire in the hedgerow at the back of the park by the fields. Luckily it didn’t spread far but still 6,000 litres of water needed to fully deal with this incident.”

The spokesperson said the fire service has been asked by water company Severn Trent to avoid cleaning its fire engines to help conserve water during the current heatwave which could see temperatures hit 40°C.

Firefighters were kept busy for about an hour dealing with the incident and other emergency calls in Bewdley and Kidderminster had to be dealt with by the service’s on call crews.

The spokesperson urged parents of children old enough to be allowed out to play to “have a quick chat with them about the fire service resources and water quantities needed to deal with a relatively small deliberate fire like this one” and added: “Please stay safe and enjoy the weather safely.”