THE fire service in Dorset faced an increase in arson attacks on homes last year, figures from the Home Office show.

In the 2017-18 financial year, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service attended 48 deliberately-started house fires, nine per cent more than the previous year.

The total number of deliberate fires including other buildings, cars and outdoor locations in Dorset and Wiltshire, was 971 last year and up from a low of 793 in 2014-15, reflecting a national trend.

Over the past five years, six people have been killed across both counties in arson attacks.

Dave Green, national officer at the Fire Brigades Union, said: “Starting fires deliberately in the home is a heinous crime.

“Rightfully, it is a serious criminal offence punishable by law.

“Arsonists do not just put the immediate victims at risk; they put whole communities and firefighters themselves in jeopardy.

“The fire and rescue service is already stretched to the limit in the fire cover they can provide.

“If firefighters are dealing with an arson at the same time as another fire call comes in, then those other victims are looking at a long wait before we can get to them.”

The recent spate of heath fires across Dorset has led to speculation that these may in some cases have been started deliberately, although in most cases the cause remains uncertain.

The 2014-15 historic low for arson attacks followed a long period of decline from a high point of 4,291 deliberate fires recorded in Dorset and Wiltshire in 2001-02.

That year also saw 100 arson attacks on homes.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire attended 839 house fires last year, including arson attacks.

In total, 27 people lost their lives in such incidents over the past five years, six in the last year alone.

There were 130 casualties last year, including 75 people who were taken to hospital as a result of their injuries.

Across England, 263 people lost their lives in house fires in 2017-18, including 20 in deliberately started fires.

The Grenfell Tower fire in Kensington in June 2017, which claimed 72 lives, meant the figure was the highest for any year since 2007-08.

There were more than 30,000 house fires across the country over the year, more than 3,200 of which were started deliberately.