TWO hedge fires started deliberately in the early hours of Tuesday morning could have spread had it not been for overnight rain, firefighters warned.

A Kidderminster fire crew spent an hour dealing with both blazes - in two front gardens 10 houses apart - in Marlpool Lane, Kidderminster.

"One was in a big hedge of leylandii which burns quite well," said firefighter Andrew Birch. "It could have been far more serious."