Police and firefighters have condemned hoax callers and yobs who have been starting grass fires.

Last Thursday Sheppey firefighters were called out to six grass fires in eight hours and some of them were started deliberately.

The first one was at 3.23pm in Second Avenue, Sheerness, and minutes later firefighters were called to Southview Gardens to a grass fire along a footpath.

They were called back to Southview Gardens at 5.21pm to reports of another grass fire.

At 8.44pm they had to put out a grass fire at Bartons Point off Marine Parade, Sheerness, before heading to Edenbridge Drive, Sheerness, at 9.03pm.

They were then called back to the same address for another grass fire at 10pm.

Finally they were called to Neptune Terrace, Sheerness, at 11.21pm after youths were seen setting fire to grass on the jetty and by the sea wall.

There was also a grass fire at 5.24pm on Friday in Southview Gardens, Sheerness.

Crew manager Peter Jones said: “By deliberately setting fires they are tying up valuable resources that might be needed for genuine fires.

“It’s tiring on the crews to keep going out to the same thing and it uses a lot of man power.

“It uses lots of physical effort as sometimes the fires are in hard to access areas.”

During the middle of all the grass fires the crews were also sent out to a job which turned out to be a hoax call.

When the call centre operator challenged the caller, who had phoned from a public phone box in Broadway, Sheerness, they hung up.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s head of community safety, Stuart Skilton, said: “Hoax calls waste firefighters time and represent a huge drain on resources.

“More importantly, they have the potential to divert crews from genuine emergencies and could result in a loss of life.

“We need parents to remind their kids that to make a hoax call is not a joke and that by doing so that they are breaking the law.”

“I would urge anyone thinking of making a call of this nature to think twice and to consider the consequences.”

If call centre staff believe a call to be suspicious, they will challenge the caller.

When a hoax call is made from a public phone box, call centre staff inform BT and pass the recording of the call onto police.

Calls made from a mobile phone will be sent a text message warning of disconnection.

If the phone is used to make a hoax call again, control staff will request that the phone is cut off by the service provider, and this can be done immediately.

If caught, hoax callers face up to a £5,000 fine, six months in prison, or both.