Fire officers are warning about the dangers of leaving cooking unattended following a number of kitchen fires over the last three days.

Crews have attended kitchen fires in Connah's Quay, Pwllheli, Llangefni, Rhyl and two in Wrexham since Saturday.

Justin Evans, Response Manager, said: "Cooking is a major cause of accidental fires in the home in North Wales, and time and time again we attend house fires which have started in the kitchen - it is so easy to forget your cooking, especially if you are tired, distracted or have been drinking. But the consequences can be
devastating.

"Forgetting to turn off the hob, leaving food in the microwave for too long, overheating a chip pan, burning the toast, leaving the oven on - all of these can spell disaster in the kitchen and can lead to serious injury or, even more worryingly, the loss of life."

Here are Justin's top tips for safety in the kitchen:

If you leave the room take the cooking off the heat

Don't use matches or lighters to light gas cookers. Spark devices are safer

Always make sure that any handles are turned away from the edge of the cooker

Keep the oven, hob and grill clean - a build-up fat and grease can easily catch fire

Never hang anything to dry above the cooker

Take care if you are wearing loose clothing as it can easily catch fire

When you've finished cooking make sure everything is turned off

Turn off electrical appliances when they are not being used

Never use a chip pan - use a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer

Get fitted with smoke alarms - they are free of charge and could save your life.

Don't forget that North Wales Fire and Rescue Service offers a free home fire safety check, where new smoke alarms will be fitted where needed totally free of charge, please call the 24 hour hotline on 0800 1691243, email cfs@nwales-fireservice.org.uk, visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk or text or text 88365, prefixing the message with the word HFSC.