LIVES are being put at risk by arsonists who are deliberately starting grass fires.

This stark warning is being issued by fire chiefs who are concerned about the massive number of incidents over the last few weeks.

During March alone, the West Yorkshire Fire Service was called out to 874 grass fires - and now the public are being urged to 'shop' the culprits before someone dies.

Assistant chief fire officer and head of fire safety David Monks said: "We have encountered the driest March on record and, as a consequence, accidents do happen when people are outside and might be careless when discarding their smoking materials.

"However, there is also the issue of grass fires being deliberately started. This places a huge drain on our resources as well as putting people's lives at risk.

"Whilst we are deploying our resources to put out grass fires, somebody else in the county might need us more and their lives could be put in danger."

He stressed: "I would ask members of the public to be vigilant if this dry spell continues, and if anyone sees a fire in the open, please report this by contacting the emergency services number - 999.

"Crimestoppers can also be contacted on 0800 555111 if a member of the public sees anyone acting suspiciously or deliberately setting fire to open land. I also ask people who are deliberately setting fire to open land to think about the consequences of their actions.

"Someone, somewhere, may need help quickly from the fire service, and lives are being put at unnecessary risk by these reckless acts."

The warning comes at a time when tinder dry moorland has been at increasing risk.

Last week 14,000 acres of the Bolton Abbey Estate were closed to the public to avoid any possible outbreak of fire. The Yorkshire Dales National Park authority said it had closed Barden Fell and the Barden Moor access area because of the tinder box conditions.

The restrictions will stay in force until the problem is alleviated by a period of sustained rainfall. However, the main part of the Bolton Abbey Estate remains open to the public.

Conditions on the moors are being monitored throughout the area in the wake of a number of moorland blazes. People visiting the moors are being urged to do their bit by following simple safety precautions.

West Yorkshire assistant divisional fire officer Steve Scanlon said: "In general terms, March has been an unusually hot month. Because of that we have had a vast increase in the number of grass fires, and quite a lot of them have been on moorland."

He said that the continuing hot and dry weather meant the figures for April were likely to be similar. And he urged the public to be careful with discarded cigarettes and matches and to avoid leaving behind glass bottles which could reflect the sun's rays and start a blaze.

He stressed: We have had almost 900 grass fires in one month alone and now we have been in another very, very dry month, so we are asking people to be vigilant.

"We are saying by all means go and enjoy the moorland but be mindful that it is tinder dry and that we are having more problems than usual at this time of year."

His message was reiterated by Bradford' environment chief and Ilkley councillor Anne Hawkesworth.

"You only really tend to think of this being a problem in the hot summer months. But there have been an awful lot of fires in March. People must be very, very careful not to do anything which could cause a fire when they are on the moorland."