A FIRE safety chief has called for parents to be more vigilant after a spate of deliberate fires on Teesside.

Firefighters went to a blaze on Huntcliffe, in Saltburn, on Sunday, which was spotted by coastguards on their way to another incident.

It is thought the grass fire near the cliff edge, at about 2pm, was started by children playing with matches.

The blaze was put out quickly by the fire crew, but Mark Whelan, director of operations and community safety at Cleveland Fire Brigade, urged parents to make sure they knew what their children were doing in the holidays.

"Eston Hills are a particular problem for us, especially during the school holidays," he said. "We get a significant number of calls there. These fires, especially in the summer when the ground is very dry, can cause danger to life of all description."