FIREFIGHTERS have to tackle hundreds of chip pan fires in West Yorkshire each year.

Crews continually urge people to dump chip pans and switch to safe oven chips in a bid to bring down the potentially deadly toll.

But if people insist on still cooking with oil firefighters urge them to do it as safely as possible.

The advice comes in the run-up to National Chip Week, which starts next Monday.

Last year firefighters went to more than 600 cooking-related fires in West Yorkshire and nearly a third of these involved chip pans.

The dangers of using hot oil – especially by people who have been drinking or taking drugs – were highlighted in a recent fire safety campaign launched by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service which warned people how to avoid a recipe for disaster.

Its senior community safety manager, Brian Robson, said: “The chip is one of our traditional foods. Most of us love freshly cooked chips; there’s nothing like them.

“Our concern is that chip pan accidents are all too regular an occurrence, which is why we want people to cook safely in order to avoid a disaster.’’