CHESHIRE Fire and Rescue Service have warned of the dangers of discarded cigarette stubs after they caused multiple fires across Cheshire yesterday.

Fire engines were dispatched to incidents in both Croft and Widnes on THursday, both of which firefighters believe were started accidentally by smokers.

And to reiterate the risk of unattended cigarettes or careless smoking, the fire service has urged smokers to check their safety advice.

The first call out was to a garden fire on Borrowdale Road in Widnes at 10.15am after reports of a garden fire.

Two fire engines from Penketh and Congleton attended and, on arrival at the scene, the team discovered a wheelie bin which was well alight.

The fire had also spread to a garden shed, garden fence panel and had damaged a nearby UPC door.

Crews used one hose reel jet to extinguish the fire and were in attendance for around 45 minutes.

The second call out was to a tree fire at 2.24pm on Birchall Street in Croft. In this case, one fire engine was dispatched from Birchwood, with firefighters finding that there had been a fire involving a conifer tree.

The fire was out on arrival, however the team used one hose reel jet to dampen down the area to prevent it from reigniting.

Firefighters also used a thermal imaging camera to check for any hotspots and were at the scene for approximately 30 minutes.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service have issued a number of safety tips for smokers to follow to prevent similar fires from breaking out.

These tips include never smoking in bed, making sure cigarettes are fully extinguished and never leaving them unattended.