THE number of car fires being dealt with by firefighters across Essex rose 35 per cent last year with Harlow one of the worst hit areas in the county.

Over the 12 months, the town's firefighters dealt with 106 car fires, putting Harlow fire station in fifth place in the 'league table' of car blazes dealt with by fire stations across the county.

Countywide there were 2,429 such blazes over 12 months.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service statistics show that half the total number of fire calls in the county were car fires, which includes derelict cars.

The most common time is between 7pm and 1am, with Saturday and Sunday the most common days.

When broken down month-by-month, the figures show a gradual trend; the number of incidents increasing over the spring peaking at 241 across Essex in July last year and then falling in the winter.

The table topped by Basildon with 261 car fires, and which puts Loughton in sixth place with 78 car fires lists the top ten stations, which are also the busiest stations for all call-outs and, the fire service says, so are likely to have higher figures for car fires.