FIREFIGHTERS regularly put their lives on the line to save the rest of us from death, injury and potentially devastating loss of property.

And every time they climb aboard a fire engine to answer a call they are aware that they could be only minutes from great risk.

For these brave individuals it must be incredibly frustrating in the Burnley area that more than nine out of ten of the 50 weekly calls they get are actually to fires started quite deliberately – often by mindless young vandals.

The frustration is because they know that while they were on their way to put out some yobs idea of a lark someone else’s life could genuinely be lost in a blaze.

It is bold and enterprising of fire officers to try to combat the problem by bussing likely lads to the fire station to see first hand how stupid pranks could kill.

We have to hope that the scheme will work.

But the rest of us should also be helping by keeping our eyes open and telling police when we see groups of youths clearly getting up to no good.

And as parents we also have a responsibility to ensure our own children are not putting the lives of others in jeopardy.