A SPATE of rubbish fires and electrical problems kept firefighters from the district busy throughout the weekend.

Crews from St Albans Fire Station were first called out at 3.30pm on Saturday to a fire on Ragged Hall Lane, where a pile of rubbish had been set alight on a footpath.

While attending this job they were alerted to a fire close to the BP garage on Park Street, which was also a pile of rubbish.

On Saturday evening the crew were called to Radlett Lodge School in Harper Lane to deal with an electrical fault. A blown plug socket was found to be the cause but there was no subsequent fire.

As they investigated the scene, a crew from Hemel were called to a playground in Park Street where a hedgerow had been set alight.

Around 9.30pm, the St Albans crew were called out again to a fire outside communal garages in Deacons Close. A pile of rubbish containing cans of paint and household waste had been piled up outside one of the garages for almost a week when it was set alight, causing damage to the nearby garage door.

Sunday saw the crew called to a launderette in New House Park where a smouldering light fitting had raised an alarm. Using thermal imagery devices, the crew were able to assess the property and make it safe.

Last night they were called to a car fire on the old M10 (A414) near the Hemel roundabout. The BMW Z4 was well alight when they arrived and although nobody was hurt, the car is beyond repair.

This morning at 5.25am the crew attended the DHL distribution centre in Colney Street after reports of a smouldering light fitting.