Firefighters in Borehamwood are dealing with more and more deliberate fires started in rubbish bins.

Over the last week they have been called to three such incidents, which could have easily spread to neighbouring properties and caused significant damage.

'Fires in rubbish bins are a problem in the summer, when a lot of the kids are on break from school,' said Leading Fire Fighter Nick Ashman, from Borehamwood Station. 'As firefighters, we don't know what's in the bins, there could be aerosol cans which are likely to explode, and are very dangerous. A lot of the time the bins are up against fences or buildings, and you can end up with a more serious fire than you started with.

'It's also a waste of our resources, and could end up costing someone's life one day. If we're busy putting out a fire in a rubbish bin and a call comes in for a house fire, the control centre has to call in the nearest pump to us, which would take longer to arrive, and minutes matter in those situations,' he said.

The fires took place at noon on Tuesday in Winstre Road; at 9.30pm on Saturday in Manor Way; at 2am on Saturday in Meadow Park; and there was another rubbish fire last Tuesday at 6pm in Aldenham Road.