Lives are being put at risk by arsonists setting fire to stolen cars.

Firefighters highlighted the danger after it took a crew nine minutes to reach a flat fire in the early hours of Saturday.

A crew based at Roedean in Brighton could have been at the scene within two minutes had they not been dealing with a burning car one mile away.

Firefighter Jim Parrott, from Roedean station, said there had been a spate of malicious car fires in the last few weeks.

Firefighters from Roedean had been called to a burning car in Woodingdean when a blaze began at a flat in Nuthurst Place, Whitehawk.

It would normally take two minutes for a crew from Roedean station to reach the flat but because colleagues from Preston Circus had to respond it took nine minutes.

Nobody was hurt in the flat fire but firefighters fear arsonists setting light to cars could spark a tragedy.

Mr Parrott said: "The number of calls is increasing again and they are putting members of the public at risk because we are being called to deal with petty car fires.

"There is always a risk somebody is going to get badly hurt."