FIRESTARTING vandals who sparked FOUR emergency services call-outs in just one night in Larkfield have been slammed for 'putting lives at risk'.

Alarmed residents have been living in fear following a series of incidents whereby young yobs have taken wheelie bins into a wooded area near Burns Square and torching them.

A nearby swing park has also been targeted by the out-of-control feral hoodlums.

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Now Councillor Daisley - who has been contacted by a number of people regarding the dangerous incidents - fears there could be a risk to life if a large blaze takes hold in the overgrown copse the youths are using as their den for starting the fires.

Greenock Telegraph: Firestarting youths who torched wheelie bins in Larkfield have been slammed for putting lives at

Councillor Daisley said: “It’s a real concern that people are choosing to do this.

“There’s a lot of flammable material here and it could easily escalate.

“People could lose their lives because of this, and it could very well be the people perpetrating it that lose their lives.

“I’ve been told that it caused the fire brigade to come out four times in one night the other week.

"The biggest problem is when they burn the bins it creates a horrible black smoke.

“It’s going into the neighbouring gardens and affecting the residents."

Mr Daisley added: “Communities like Braeside and Larkfield often feel forgotten about, like they don’t get anything, or they’re left out.

“For even more damage to be caused to a place that’s already feeling like that is such a horrible thing for residents.

“They don’t understand why people are not taking pride in their community and are instead actively destroying it.

“The swing park at Burns Square has also been targeted, I’ve got in touch with council officers to have the gates and swings replaced.

“Not to mention the fact that it’s directly next to a power relay, it could cause massive damage to the community.”

The SNP politicians said that he had already been in contact with the police and fire service about the blazes and was confident that the perpetrators would soon be identified.

He told the Tele: “I want the residents to know that the relevant authorities are taking action on this and they’re taking it very seriously.

“Some people have said to me that kids have nothing to do here, and because of that they’re doing things like this.

“I disagree with that completely, I can look across the street and see Youth Connections, which is one of the most successful organisations in Inverclyde for engaging with young people.

“There are other things you can do rather than cause damage to your own community. It’s disgusting and it’s unacceptable.

“Nobody here is going to tolerate it, we will find out who it is and action will be taken very quickly.”

Inverclyde fire chief David McCarrey told how the deliberate blazes could have an impact on the fire service’s ability to attend other incidents.

Mr McCarrey said: "We take a zero-tolerance approach to deliberate fire-setting. Education and engagement remain a key part of our prevention efforts and we will always work with our partner agencies and communities to lay bare the costs and consequences of fire-setting.

"Deliberate fire-setting has the potential to cause injury, and even death, or cause devastating damage to our environment and properties.

"These types of incidents can impact on our availability to attend more serious incidents where members of the public may be in need of rescue.

"We will continue to do all we can to prevent these kinds of unwanted incidents, but would call on all members of our community to support us in achieving this."