Fires in Newham have more than halved in ten years, brigade bosses say.

Figures released by the London Fire Brigade show the number of blazes fell to 1,211 last year.

This was down from the 3,485 recorded in 2001 and equates to about three fires a day.

The number of house fires in the borough attended also fell, by 41 per cent, from 454 in 2001 to 270 in 2011.

Newham borough commander Wayne Brown said: “These figures show that people in Newham are less likely to have a fire than ever before and residents are far safer as a result.

“(We have) targeted those people who are more likely to have a fire and provided them with potentially life saving advice and smoke alarms.”

The total number of incidents attended by the borough’s firefighters stood at 3,709 in 2011 - also down on 2001’s 8,179.

Mr Brown added: “Whilst the borough has become a more safer place there is no room for complacency.

“Brigade chiefs are committed to keeping local residents even safer, not least by preventing fires from happening in the first place.”