FIREFIGHTERS in Berkshire faced a significant rise in the number of arson attacks on homes last year, latest figures have shown.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) attended 34 deliberately started house fires in 2017-18, 48 per cent more than the previous financial year.

In total, 11 people died as a result of the fires over the last five years and 34 were taken to hospital as a result of their injuries in 2017/18.

Dave Green, national officer at the Fire Brigades Union, said: "Starting fires deliberately in the home is a heinous crime.

"Rightfully, it is a serious criminal offence punishable by law. Arsonists do not just put the immediate victims at risk. They put whole communities and firefighters themselves in jeopardy."

More than 400 house fires were logged by RBFRS and 263 people died in house fires across England last year.

The Grenfell Tower fire in Kensington in June 2017, which claimed 72 lives, made the figure was the highest for any year since 2007-08.