HOME Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw was the key speaker at a conference on arson held in his constituency.

The event was held at the home of Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and focused on the role the fire brigade has to play in tackling crime.

Bill Peterson, fire chief of Plano, Texas, was at the conference to talk about the way the problem is dealt with by his fire brigade.

Paul Stephenson, Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire and Lancashire's Chief Fire Officer Peter Holland, attended and Professor Ann-Rosemarie Everton, an expert on fire law from the University of Central Lancashire, spoke.

Brigade bosses in Lancashire say arson is on the increase and last year there were 95 deaths across the United Kingdom linked to the problem. Several schemes have already been launched in Lancashire to try and cut down on the number of suspicious blazes. Wheels on Fire is aimed at incidents involving cars being set on fire deliberately by car thieves or as part of a fraudulent insurance claim.

The county council has joined forces with the fire brigade and the police on a ground breaking scheme which has seen a fall in the level of auto arson.

A special arson hot-line has also been set up in recent months to help police investigate suspicious fires. Following a suspected arson attack posters are put up in the area to try and encourage witnesses to come forward.