YOUNGSTERS have been warned about the dangers of setting fires after reports were passed on to police.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service staff and Haddington’s community ward officer have both highlighted the issue following a fire near the town’s busy skate park.

Constable Lynn Black attended the town’s community council meeting earlier this month and reported on fires on September 29.

She told the Courier: “I think there have been a couple of fires we have had reported to us. I dealt with a fire a month, or a month and a bit ago.”

The officer said that they were small fires being set but they could easily spread and cause further damage to the area, or cause injury to the youngsters involved.

The area is also popular with dog walkers and PC Black highlighted there was broken glass being left in the area, which could cause injury to the animals.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service told the Courier: “Deliberate fires waste our time and resources and have the potential to delay us from reaching real emergencies – where every single minute counts.

“Our firefighters work extremely hard to engage with the public and promote safety messages in order to keep our communities as safe as possible.

“We would ask parents and carers to ensure that their children know about and understand the potentially tragic consequences deliberate fires can have, as well as the impact for responding emergency services.”