Firefighters have tackled a "deliberate" fire at a park in Stoke-on-Trent.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to Central Forest Park in Hanley at 6.35pm yesterday (Wednesday 29 July) following reports of a fire.

Three appliances attended the scene, where they found a "large grass fire" which was extinguished using hose reel jets.

Nobody was reported injured.

The service said the cause of the fire was deemed to be deliberate.

Group Manager Rich Williams, who attended the scene, said: "I would like to highlight the dangers associated with deliberately setting fires.

"Incidents such as this not only place members of the public at risk, especially children and families using the park, but also create unnecessary demand on emergency services.

"Resources committed to preventable incidents may not be immediately available for other serious emergencies elsewhere.

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"The fire also caused considerable damage to the parkland, destroying a large area of grass and shrubbery used regularly by local residents for recreation, including dog walking and other outdoor activities."