Tyne and Wear Fire Brigade said it received 1,000 hoax calls last year.

Tyne and Wear Fire Brigade said it received 1,000 of the calls last year.

It has now released a hard-hitting video featuring actors from children's drama series Byker Grove, to show young people the dangers of making hoax calls.

The brigade's Chief Fire Officer, Richard Bull, said many of the calls come from children and young people.

He said: "Unfortunately it is a lot of younger people, particularly people in their teens who see it as a joke and perhaps a bit of a challenge.

"But what we have got to make them realise is how much risk they are exposing themselves, even their own families, to should those fire engines be somewhere where they are not needed at a time when they are needed to save lives."

Mr Bull said it is a long-running problem the brigade has had to deal with.

Amount of abuse

He said: "I think it has been a trend for the last 25 years that people see it as way of getting at the people who are there to serve them.

"We must get the message over to younger people about how much risk they are exposing our society to."

Mr Bull said he was also concerned about the amount of abuse the emergency services suffered while responding to calls.

He said: "I think there is a minority of people who see the emergency services, firefighters and paramedics in particular, as soft targets.

"It is appalling the amount of abuse my firefighters get on the streets - people throwing stones, potatoes, swearing, spitting general abuse when they are there to help people.

"And I think particularly our thoughts must go to paramedics at this time of year. When you see how many incidents they are dealing with and how they are abused it is just unacceptable."