Landowners who carry out controlled burns of vegetation have been told they should contact the fire service first.

It follows a false alarm yesterday afternoon.

Crews from Peel and Douglas Stations responded to reports of a fire in the open near to St John’s.

When they got there they found out it was a controlled burn.

The 999 call was made with good intentions by a concerned member of the public.

A fire service spokesman said: ‘To avoid us being called out unnecessarily we would ask that before considering carrying out any controlled burns the emergency services joint control room is contacted on 697327, stating the location of the area being burned, a contact number given for the responsible person and that it is monitored for the duration of the burn.’