Residents in the South East have been urged not to report their neighbours for using barbecues unless there is an emergency.

Last week the government issued an emergency phone alert warning of wild fires across England and Wales, as well as banning the use of disposable barbeques, naked flames or fireworks.

Surrey Fire & Rescue Service has urged the public to only call 999 in an emergency following a high volume of calls regarding neighbours with barbecues, bonfires and campfires in their gardens.

Firefighters in East Sussex have also seen an increase in requests for assistance from other services to help deal with “complex and long-running incidents”.