FIREFIGHTERS have slammed "irresponsible time wasters" who have made 32 hoax calls in the last four months.

Watch manager Peter Frazer said malicious callers in Accrington were putting lives at risk by reporting incidents that do not exist.

In the latest, two crews from Accrington, along with police, rushed to a shop in Blackburn Road only to find there was no fire.

Mr Frazer said: "The call had come from a phone box at the other end of Blackburn Road and we obviously have to attend when calls like these are made.

"If there had been a real fire somewhere else in the town there is no way we could have attended it and crews would have had to have come from further away.

"I don't think some people understand the serious consequences of making malicious calls. They are putting lives at risk."

A spokesman for Lancashire Fire service said hoax calls were a problem across the county but in general are decreasing.

Ten years ago there were around 5,000 malicious calls every year in Lancashire - now there are around 1,300.

But he said there did appear to have been a blip' in Accrington recently.

Mr Frazer said the majority of the 32 fake emergency calls in Accrington since April had been made from phone boxes.

The fire service has the power to deactivate mobile phones that are used for malicious calls.

Mr Frazer said firefighters in Accrington were attempting to put a stop to the "menace" by continuing work with local children and hosting fire safety events.

But he said the problem was not just one of children messing about.

He added: "One of our worst culprits is an adult woman. We believe she is responsible for around seven of the calls. It is completely irresponsible behaviour."

Insp Terry Woods, of Accrington police, said the crime was being taken very seriously and any incidents that were proven would be punished.