Local firefighters and colleagues at West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) are urging the public not to engage in a recent social media trend causing emergency services to attend hoax incidents. 

Over the past week, videos of fake explosions have been posted on TikTok and other video platforms as part of a new way to prank family and friends. 

The videos are created using special effects on a mobile phone and are causing members of the public to call emergency services as they fear for the safety of their loved ones. 

The trend has seen people film various appliances around their homes such as kettles, microwaves and ovens to create the effect of a sudden explosion caused by one of the devices. 

Last Sunday (4 December), WMFS took a call from a distressed mother who reported a fire at her address. 

She was out at the time when her daughter sent her one of the videos. Understandably, she feared for her daughter's safety and called the emergency services as soon as possible. 

Crews from Hanley, Longton and Sandyford were sent to the scene but once they arrived, it became clear that the incident wasn't real. 

Head of Operations, Jim Bywater, said: "We know this particular incident wasn't targeted at the fire service, but we want to show how this can develop and become a serious cause of alarm. 

"Modern phones are brilliant bits of kit and are capable of doing lots of things. In this case, however, they are causing people to mistake fake videos for real-life emergencies involving their loved ones.

"Please don't frighten your friends and family by doing this. It's second nature for them to call us if they see something like this and it can result in widespread disruption and potentially a lack of resources to attend an actual emergency."

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service are calling on social media users not to create these videos or interact with them online. 

They advise reporting the video to the appropriate platform so they can be removed.