A SPATE of malicious car fires is tying up firefighters who should be on stand-by to rescue victims from burning houses.

Incidents in Little Hulton have soared this month in the run up to Bonfire Night, putting extra strain on Farnworth station which can get seven calls a night at the weekend.

At the height of the school holidays in August there were 28 car fires but there have already been 25 this month with two weekends to go.

Station officer Paul Norris said Little Hulton was a hotspot and that 88 out of 233 car fires reported so far this year were in that area.

"The majority are cars which have been abandoned and set fire to. It is very dangerous because cars have pressurised mechanisms and tyres that can easily explode.

"Many times we have been tied up putting out a car fire and there will be a house fire in our area so an engine from another part of Bolton will have to come in to tackle it."

Despite the rise in figures this month it is thought that the number of car fires this year will be down on last when 344 were reported.

That is being attributed to the fire service's work with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership which includes removing abandoned cars within six hours of a report.

A new Arson Reduction Forum will chart hotspots and find ways to tackle them.

Station Officer Bill Edwards said "There is a massive problem in the Farnworth area with cars being stolen and set alight. But figures have been reduced with the help of a number of initiatives set up to help combat this kind of crime.

"Many cars that are stolen and torched by vandals are older and don't have the safety devices of modern cars. People need to make their cars safer so vandals can't get in."

Other measures have included putting bollards on the edge of waste land where cars are often set alight.