Blaze prompts alert to families.

PARENTS have been advised to keep an eye on their children's whereabouts after a caravan was destroyed in a blaze in an area where children were playing.

The vehicle was set alight on open ground on Dundas Street, Primrose Hill, in Stockton on Friday evening.

Crews from Stockton Fire Station took about half-an-hour to extinguish the blaze which is believed to have been started maliciously.

Watch manager Davey Veitch said: "My initial thoughts are that it was a malicious ignition started deliberately.

"One concern from the fire service point of view is that there were rather a lot of children playing in and around the area with adults watching on.

"Fortunately there were no gas cylinders in the caravan - if there had been gas cylinders it could have been more serious.

"During the time of the school holidays, parents need to be responsible for young children and should know where they are and that they are not playing around objects where something serious could happen to them." Mr Veitch said it is not known who the caravan belonged to as it was found on waste ground..