THE number of fires reported in Leigh went down by 45 per cent in the space of a year.

A freedom of information request submitted to the fire service found 363 blazes were reported in the town in 2019, 164 less than the 527 reports made in 2018.

In 2017 there were 473 fires reported in Leigh.

The amount of fires reported in Atherleigh dropped by 59 per cent from 118 in 2018 to 74 in 2019.

The number of fires reported in Tyldesley shot down by 84 per cent from 90 in 2018 to 49 in 2019.

In Atherton, the number of fires reported increased by 13 per cent from 88 in 2018 to 99 last year.

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There were 30 fires reported in Astley and Mosley Common in 2019, five more than there were in 2018.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service area manager Paul Fearnhead said: “It’s really positive to see the number of fires has decreased in the borough.

"Our crews and staff work incredibly hard to educate members of the public about the dangers associated with fire and the simple steps that can be taken to reduce fires from occurring it the home.

“Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service offers a number of Safe and Well visits to residents across the city-region – focusing on the individuals living in the property and their home environment to further reduce the risk of fire.

"To book a Safe and Well visit please call 0800 555 815.

“The service will continue to work hard to keep driving these figures down and keep the people of Leigh safe.

"Please remember in an emergency always call 999.”

Meanwhile, the number of attacks on firefighters in Atherleigh fell from 10 in 2017 to none last year.

There were a total of two attacks on firefighters reported in Leigh in 2019.

Atherleigh Labour councillor John Harding was a former borough fire commander.

Cllr Harding, who worked in the fire service for 33 years, said: “The results in the Atherleigh ward are particularly notable, including the reduction in attacks on crews at incidents.

"This is partly due to the regular multi-agency meetings held by Atherleigh councillors with the station commanders, some of our local residents, GMP, and Wigan council staff from a variety of departments including youth services, environmental enforcement and housing, which result in joint fire reduction activity being undertaken in the Atherleigh ward.

"The results across the Leigh area are excellent and I congratulate the local fire and rescue service crews and officers for their first class preventative, community and operational work."