THE number of people killed or injured in fires Irvine and Kilwinning is at its highest in five years, the Times can reveal.

New figures show that fire casualties have increased by 35 per cent in North Ayrshire, with 11 people injured in Irvine and Kilwinning last year - the highest since 2011.

The number of accidental fires in the area are also at their highest for five years with 37 house blazes occurring last year, compared with 29 the previous year.

Kilwinning fared better with accidental house fires down to just 10 in the 2015/16 period, but across North Ayrshire there was a rise of four per cent.

The figures come from the North Ayrshire Performance Report between April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 which was presented to North Ayrshire Council at a meeting this week.

Fire chiefs told the council that in the last year across North Ayrshire there were 123 accidental house fires - from which 31 people were hurt of killed.

Of those 45 per cent were given first aid at the scene with the majority of all fire related injuries being attributed to smoke inhalation

The majority - 58 per cent of those casualties were male and 84 percent of non-fatal fire casualties did not require to be rescued by the Fire and Rescue Service.

Figures show that kitchen fires accounted for the majority - 66 per cent of casualties, whilst 72 per cent of all accidental house fires were caused by cooking.

Whilst 11 per cent of accidental house fires identified alcohol or other substances as a contributory factor.

However it wasn't all bad news for the fire service as figures revealed that deliberate fire setting had fallen by almost eight per cent last year compared with the corresponding three-year average.

The report also revealed that false alarms accounted for almost half - 49 per cent - of all call outs with actual fires accounting for 36 per cent and special services 15 percent.