THE number of hoax calls to the fire service has fallen dramatically since the start of the year - and The Bolton New Shop A Hoaxer campaign has been praised for contributing to the decrease.

Fire stations in Bolton normally receive two or three bogus calls a day, but so far this year Bolton Central Fire Station has not had a single one.

Watch commander Ian Duckworth said putting recordings of bogus calls on The Bolton News website had been a success.

He said: "I think the hoaxers have stopped out of fear of being caught.

"In the last few weeks we have not had a single malicious call, and other stations in the Bolton borough have only had one or two. Naming and shaming people has showed how seriously we take these pranks, and we would like to thank the public for their help and support.

"If people need assistance in an emergency, they expect the fire brigade to be there as soon as possible. Hoaxers take advantage of this, and sometimes the seconds count."

Last month, The Bolton News highlighted a serial hoaxer made calls claiming bins had been set alight in Green Lane, Great Lever, and in a garden in Great Lever.

Recordings were put on our website.

The hoaxer has not been caught, but Mr Duckworth said they had not received any more calls from him since.

He added: "We will continue to hunt for malicious callers and urge the public to come forward with information."

Hoax callers can be fined £80 on the spot or be sent to court, which could result in either a £5,000 fine or six months in prison.

You can still listen to recordings of the hoax callers by logging on to www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news and following the link.

If you recognise the voice of a caller, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.