FEWER lives were lost to fires in Dorset and Wiltshire in 2021, bucking the national trend.

The Fire Brigades Union branded a 27 per cent increase in fire fatalities across England as "terrifying" and urged the government to stem cuts to firefighting services.

Home Office statistics show seven people died as a result of fires attended by the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service last year, down from nine the year prior but up from four in 2019.

Fire fatalities in Dorset and Wiltshire peaked in 2014, when 13 lives were lost.

Nationally, there were 280 fire fatalities in 2021, the highest number since 2017, when the Grenfell Tower disaster occurred, claiming 72 lives.

There were 98 deaths between October and December, the most recorded for the period since 2008.

The Home Office cautioned that numbers can fluctuate between quarters, but added it will monitor the situation for any ongoing trends.

The decrease in deaths in Dorset and Wiltshire follows a fall in fire callouts, with crews attending some 3,021 last year, down from 3,376 in 2020.

There were 77 fire-related casualties, of those, 44 required hospital treatment.

Nationally, the number of non-fatal casualties fell by 6 per cent, from 6,585 to 6,201, and less than 0.5 per cent of all fires led to at least one fatality.

The Home Office said it has delivered a successful "Fire Kills" campaign and is working with the National Fire Chiefs Council to keep people safe and bring forward further fire safety reform.

It has provided the NFCC with a £1.1 million grant to deliver fire prevention awareness programmes.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are committed to fire prevention awareness to save lives.

"Every life lost to fire is a tragedy and, while they are down 12 per cent when compared with 10 years ago, we know there is more to do."