HALTON residents are warned that bird nests, soot and debris could be lurking in their chimneys.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is reminding householders and businesses to get their chimney swept as part of chimney fire safety week from September 7-12 Firefighters attended 94 chimney fires in Halton and Warrington and Cheshire between 2014 and 2015.

Since 2010, 561 calls have been made to extinguish chimney fires.

Nick Evans, head of prevention at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service explains: "Without proper maintenance a chimney can become dangerous and cause a house fire so it’s important for people to get their chimney swept before using them.

“There has been a 32 per cent reduction in the number of chimney fires we attend over the past five years but we want to bring this figure down even more.”