Warning following garden fire

We are issuing a warning after crews tackled a fire believed to have been started by sunlight shining through a glass table in a garden in Stoke-on-Trent.

At around 6.45pm on Thursday (23 April), firefighters went to a property on Werrington Road in Ash Bank and found a garage alight.

The fire was safely extinguished.

It is believed the fire was started by sunlight reflecting off a glass garden table onto a wooden seating area.

No-one was injured.

Watch Manager Timothy Plant said: “We sometimes see this kind of incident outdoors when people have left glasses or empty bottles outside after taking advantage of the warm weather.

“So, in the lead up to and during the summer months, please remember that any glass, or glass object, left in a garden is very good at concentrating light.

“When that light’s on an object that burns easily, such as dry grass, it can start fires.”