FIREfighters are seeking to reduce the threat of caravan blazes.

Cleveland Fire Brigade has set up an initiative to improve safety on caravan sites with fire safety checks and the installation of smoke alarms in mobile and static homes.

The initiative follows a caravaner's concern about fire cover at a site in Redcar, leading to brigade officers talking to the site managers.

Sixty caravans have been checked at the site and another two sites in the town will be visited when they re-open next month.

Ian Harrington, Redcar and Cleveland station manager, said: "This scheme is very important, as there are over 1,300 caravans in our brigade area, many without smoke alarms.

"The causes of caravan fires are much the same as those in the home.

"However, due to the caravan's small dimensions, high wood content and lack of partitioning rooms to contain a fire, the speed at which a fire consumes its surroundings is alarmingly rapid compared to a house."

He said: "It's just as essential to have a working smoke alarm in a caravan as it is in a house, if not more important.

"We are also currently identifying caravan sites in the other boroughs in the brigade area to encourage the use of smoke alarms."