ISLANDERS are worrried about the number of grass fires breaking out on Canvey.

Firefighterswere called to deal with six incidents in a single day thisweek, giving rise to concerns the fires could end up out of control.

On Tuesday, fire crews tackled fires in the Winter gardens and Church Parade area – with youngsters blamed for starting them. There have also been fires in the Smallgains area.

It has prompted councillors to call on schools to teach youngsters more about the dangers theyare in and the risks to others when they start fires.

Peter Grieg, Canvey Island Independent Party borough councillors for Winter Gardens ward, said: “Grass fires on Canvey are becoming an issue.

“It’s all about educating children about the dangers and consequences.

I’d like to see fire and police services visiting schools more often to teach about fires.”

Fellow Winter Gardens councillor, Steven Cole, added: “It is an issue on Canvey.

“Only recently, the RSBP built a new birdwatching area over on the sanctuary and kids came along and burned it down.

“During the school holidays kids are hanging around and causing problems while the parents are at work.

“I believe the fire and police services already do visit schools to talk about tackling crime issues, but I definitely think we need to do more.

“We need to get the information out there to parents more and ask them to speak to their children about the dangers and consequences of playing with fire and setting things on fire.”

Local fire service assistant divisional officer Neil Fenwick agreed youngsters needed to be more aware of the consequences of their actions.

He said: “Deliberate grass fires, like those tackled by crews in Canvey on Tuesday, can easily get out of hand.

“They can, spread, cause a huge amount of damage and put lives at risk.

“Over the years I have been to a number of incidents which started as small grass fires and quickly spread to threaten homes and businesses.

“These incidents can also risk lives by tying up crews which could be needed to deal with life threatening incidents elsewhere.”

A spokesman at fire service headquarters said: “Last year, We spoke to more than 117,000 schoolchildren in Essex.

“Between September 2014 and July 2015, officers visited 578 schools in the county and ten of the 12 schools on Canvey had a visit from our community safety officers in that time.

“All schools in Canvey received a letter offering them a visit.”