ARSONISTS plagued Winsford in 2016 with 124 deliberate fires, it has been revealed.

The town has been hit with an arson craze this year, with most of them coming in the Wharton area.

The fire service spoke to the Guardian and revealed that firefighters had to tackle 124 deliberate fires throughout the year.

Compared to 73 in 2015, the figure amounts to a 70 per cent increase.

The total number of incidents, of all kinds, dealt with by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2016 was 2,311.

Since Bonfire Night, there have been 30 deliberate fires just in the Wharton area, taking up a huge proportion of the service countywide.

Colin Heyes, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s arson reduction manager, said: “Wharton is an area which has been hit particularly hard since the bonfire period with deliberate fires amounting to over 30. This is suspected to amount to approximately 30 per cent of deliberate fire activity for the whole service during that period.

“The blight on the community is considerable and we need the help of the public to find out who is doing this.

“Fire is very unpredictable and what starts out as a small deliberate fire could spread to nearby properties, causing damage and even risking lives. This is not to mention the significant financial cost to the tax payer.”

Deliberate fires took up more than 900 hours of fire service time in Cheshire in 2016.

The ongoing spate of arson in the Wharton area has also continued into 2017 with eight deliberate fires so far in the first five days.

Mr Heyes added: “We are appealing for any information involving these series of small fires and would like those responsible to know that their actions pose a real risk to the local community.

“Anyone with any information about any of these fires is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.”