FIRE chiefs were today praising staff for their efforts in reducing the number of hoax calls.

Area commander for Bolton, Wigan and Salford, Bob Hodgson, said Greater Manchester County Fire Service had put many resources into tackling the problem.

And he said the news that false alarms have reduced from 9.94 per 1,000 people to 8.05 was proof that their efforts were worth it.

He added: "Our safety department has been actively making people aware of the dangers false calls can have on people's lives.

"We have stressed parents make sure their children understand that if they make a false call it can be a matter of life and death.

"While we always send out appliances to incidents, the one that is just around the corner from a fire may be travelling on a false alarm which means another one further away has to attend, adding vital minutes."

The statistics formed part of performance figures released by the brigade today.

They showed that 94.3 per cent of the time, firefighters in the county had attended incidents within five minutes of a call being made.

That was despite the number of calls made by members of the public increasing from 9.56 per 1,000 of the population to 12.20. County Fire Officer George Almond said: "The performance indicators record another busy year with more than 31,000 calls to fires. The brigade has coped well with the increase in calls and has continued to make improvements in important areas.

"It is particularly pleasing to note that the initiatives outlined in the brigade's Community Fire Safety Plan have continued to produce results."