A LEADING firefighter today urged people in Burnley to take back ownership of the town.

Burnley Fire Service Area Commander Mick Frankland spoke out in the wake of recent council elections in the town which saw three British National Party members elected to Burnley Council.

He said: "We have had the riots, the task force report and now the elections. What the fire service is saying to the people of Burnley is stop talking and start doing.

"People now need to get to work to put the findings of the task force into being to produce a better Burnley.

"We believe that we have tackled everything that was set out for us to do since the task force.

"We have set up a group of young firefighters aged 12 to 18 from all areas of Burnley involving a cress section of the community."

He said the fire reduction team has also been established to tackle nuisance fires which have blighted the town -- last year there were more than 1,000 which cost the service in excess of £300,000.

Mr Frankland said: "People now need to take back ownership of their own communities. And if there is a problem in their area with people starting nuisance fires they should report them to the police.

"We have also signed an agreement with the police whereby young people who are starting fires are referred to us to make them more aware of what they are doing.

"The true cost of nuisance fires is not just in fire service terms it can also cost in a life or in serious injuries which result in thousands of pounds in medical treatment."

He said the service was also hoping to be working with Prince's Trust on a series of projects.

Mr Frankland added: "This is what we have done -- now people in Burnley have to get on board and make a difference."