East Sussex firefighters dealt with more false alarms than actual blazes last year.

The news comes as firebugs give crews the run-around by starting fires which waste valuable time and put genuine callers at risk.

East Sussex Fire Brigade received 5,807 false alarms last year, compared to 4,582 call-outs to fires.

Crews stationed in Eastbourne attended 765 false alarms alone, 41 per cent of its 1,847 calls.

The statistics, from a fire authority report, do not reveal how many of the false alarms were malicious but members of East Sussex Fire Brigade have today issued a strong warning to those who call out firefighters needlessly and start small blazes deliberately.

Suzanne Gooch, media resources officer, said: "There are different types of false alarms - from automated alarms to those given by people who genuinely thought there was a fire.

"There are also malicious calls, although these are a smaller number.

"It is a waste of resources but the danger is that while fire crews are out chasing malicious calls or small fires they may get called to a much more serious incident and it will take longer to get there.

"Lives are put risk. Starting fires in itself is dangerous to those who are doing it and to our firefighters."

Last night firefighters in Eastbourne were called to an fire in fields near Golden Jubilee Way at 7pm.

The call-out was around the 12th in the last week to the same area as vandals set alight piles of grass in a spate of incidents.

Although the fires do not put buildings or people in immediate danger, fire crews echoed the views of brigade bosses and fear they could be delayed from more serious fires.

One firefighter said: "They take some time to put out so we spend a while at each one.

"There seems to be a spate of them recently - it seems to be the thing to do at the moment. We could live without it."

Part of the council tax goes towards the fire authority and residents have seen an increase in their bills from £32.90 to £36.43 this year.

The cost is set to rise again with council tax on the up and the fire authority taking £38.90 from each payer.

This increase will allow the authority to increase its annual spending and implement its plan to recruit more firefighters.

The fire authority figures also show crews dealt with 3,443 special service call-outs last year, such as road accidents, saving animals or flood rescues.

The total number of malicious calls across East Sussex last year was 458.