POLICE are investigating a spate of fires in Worcester in the early hours of this morning.

Officers are linking at least six fires, which are believed to have been started deliberately some time between midnight and 1.25am.

Wheelie bins in Peterborough Close, Devon Road, St Catherine's Vale and Lark Hill Road were set ablaze, while a fence in Chelmsford Drive and a tarpaulin over a car in Liverpool Road were also set alight.

PC Joanna Tredwell, who is investigating the fires, labelled the acts as “totally irresponsible” and “incredibly dangerous”.

“We do believe these fires are linked due to the number of them, the quick time frame in which they occurred and their close proximity to one another,” she said. “Setting fire to bins or other seemingly minor outdoor items is not only totally irresponsible, but incredibly dangerous, and of course while firefighters are dealing with these fires, they are not available to deal with other incidents.

"Luckily, no one was injured in these fires but we are treating them as arson, which is a serious offence and carries a sentence of up to life imprisonment.”

Station Commander Mark Strutt from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said that the incidents were being treated very seriously, adding: "Our crews were called out to five separate addresses this morning, and while the individual fires were fairly small, they each had the potential for more serious consequences and each tied up resources that could have been needed urgently elsewhere."

Both police and the fire service are urging anyone with information to pass it on at the earliest opportunity.

Anyone with information should call PC Tredwell on 0300 333 3000, quoting 1N 290512 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.