VANDALS are risking lives by starting deliberate fires "nearly every day", according to city residents.

They say fires are being lit in wasteland and woodland areas around the Drumchapel area in the west of Glasgow.

It is a particular problem in the Garscadden Woods, known locally as the Bluebell Woods.

The problem was highlighted by local people on community Facebook page, Drumchapel Life So Far.

Owner of the page Michelle O'Connell, 35, said: "It has been happening nearly every day.

"We're so happy when it's raining because that's the only time we don't get the fires.

"It seems to be young people but they don't know the damage they're doing.

"They go out on dirt bikes setting fires everywhere. It's widespread.

"There are buzzards in the area and it makes me furious to see people mindlessly starting fires.

"The forestry service and community clubs have been working really hard to make the woods a better place."

Despite the new fears, the number of fires in the area is decreasing.

The Evening Times understands there were 47 fires classed as deliberate and likely to be grass fires between April 2014 and February 28 this year in the Drumchapel/Anniesland area.

It is less than half the 123 such incidents recorded in the same period the previous year - April 2013 to February 2014 - and below an average figure of 76 for the same period over the previous three years.

Drumchapel/Anniesland councillor Malcolm Balfour said: "Although the number of fires is coming down, one is one too many.

"It is mostly kids causing a nuisance but they are wasting firefighters' precious time and it is dangerous."

Area Manager George McGrandles, local senior officer for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Glasgow city, said: "During periods of dry weather our crews are called to more fires involving grassland and this isn't just something that impacts the countryside.

"Even small fires involving grassland or on waste-ground can quickly spread and the smoke they produce poses a risk to people in the vicinity, particularly if they have breathing conditions.

"Items like glass bottles can magnify sunlight and cause a grass fire to begin, so taking care to dispose of things properly can prevent accidental fires and help ensure the community's fire and rescue resources aren't tied-up dealing with them."

Mr McGrandles said the downward trend in the number of grass fires reflected the work carried out by the SFRS to educate people.

He added: "While incidents of this sort have reduced both across the city as a whole and specifically within the Drumchapel-Anniesland area, the fact is any fire can endanger the public and we will continue working to drive them down further.

"Firefighters have been working with young people to raise awareness of the seriousness of deliberately starting fires and the danger this behaviour poses to anyone involved, emergency responders and the public.

"We know that young people are often responsible for deliberate fires involving grass and refuse so it's important parents make sure their kids understand fire is never harmless fun - it could result in very serious injury or worse."

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call police on 101.