The number of fires in Waltham Forest has been cut by more than a quarter over the past five years.

New figures published by the London Fire Brigade yesterday (Thursday, May 26), show the number of fires recorded in the borough dropped from 894 in 2011/12 to 657 in 2015/16.

The reduction represents a 26 per cent drop in the number of incidents attended by firefighters across the five-year period.

Across the capital, the number of fires has dropped by 20 per cent since 2011/12.

The number of deaths caused by fire last year stood at 36, 11 lower than the figure five years ago.

However, despite the downward trend, fire deaths were up last year from 2014/15, when a record low of 30 was recorded.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: "The downward trend in fires and fire deaths is a testament to the incredible hard work of our firefighters in carrying out almost 87,000 home fire safety visits last year.

"However, last year's increase in the total number of people who died as a result of fire shows that we must never become complacent.

"Far too many old and vulnerable people are dying unnecessarily in avoidable fires either because they have mobility issues and may struggle to raise the alarm or their home lacks appropriate fire detection.

“We're committed to reducing the devastating effects of fire on London's vulnerable and that's why we're increasing funds and stepped up our work with carers and local authorities."