Fire officers are warning about the dangers of leaving cooking unattended following a number of kitchen fires during the last week.

Crews have attended eight kitchen fires in the period 15^th - 22^nd April in Wrexham, Gaerwen, Abergele, Ruthin, Corwen, Llanfair and Mold.

Brian Williams, Community Safety Team Manager, said: "Cooking is a major cause of accidental fires 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.

"Fortunately there were no casualties at these incidents, but 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 could spell disaster in the kitchen and can lead to serious injury or, even more worryingly, the loss of life.

"In a concerted effort to drive down the number of cooking fires, we are visiting supermarkets across the region as part of the 'We don't want to come dine with you' campaign to highlight how to stay safe in the kitchen.

"The campaign was launched in South Gwynedd recently and will move to the Wrexham area in May. People can put their safety knowledge to the test by trying out our cooking safely quiz with a chance to win £100 worth of supermarket vouchers - follow us on facebook www.facebook.com/Northwalesfireservice, or #wedontwanttocomedinewithyou on Twitter and listen out for our adverts on Heart FM."

Here are Brian'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, air fryer or use oven chips

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

- Never run back into the property, once you are out stay out! Inhaling the smoke could seriously affect your chances of coming out of the property a second time.

- Cooking after drinking is a recipe for disaster. Countless fires are caused each year by people returning home from the pub and deciding to cook a snack for themselves before going to bed. Play it safe, and prepare a snack before you go out or pick up a take away on the way home instead.

If you would like the chance to win shopping vouchers follow the link www.facebook.com/Northwalesfireservice and take part in our cooking safely competition on our Facebook page. Like, share and comment to let us know when you have shared our cooking safely fire safety messages.

The closing date for the competition is 8.00pm 30th September.

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.ukor text 88365, prefixing the message with the word HFSC.