Flare-firing hoaxers have been criticised for wasting the resources of those who devote their own time to saving lives off our coast.

Rescue teams have been called out twice in recent days after the marine flares were sent up near Seaham Harbour.

The searches by the Coastguard and volunteer RNLI teams each involved about 15 people.

But both alerts, the first last Friday at 8.30pm and the second on Monday at 5pm, turned out to be hoaxes after it was established the marine distress flares were let off on land.

They come after two similar incidents in May.

The RNLI has praised those who called 999 and says they did the right thing by raising the alarm, but has issued a plea to whoever is letting off the flares to stop.

They have also been warned they are putting themselves at risk of burns and other injuries if they use the pyrotechnics without the right training.

The Marine and Coastguard Agency has said anyone who uses them on land without good cause could be committing a firearms offence.

Paul Nicholson, senior helmsman with Sunderland RNLI, said: "There's obviously a waste of resources generally within the emergency services that are involved if an incident happens and with us being a charity, there's a financial wastage.

"There's also a risk that people who report these flares genuinely, which is the right thing to do, become aware of what has happened here and they might not call when they see them again, when we want to encourage people to report these things.

"There's also a risk to the people that are unfortunately setting these off.

"They are a very dangerous piece of kit.

"People have to be trained and experienced, which probably isn't the case here.

"I don't think anyone with a marine background would be the sort to do this."

The flares have an expiry date, as the chemicals and components inside them can deteriorate, and they must be disposed of under strict rules.

Durham Police received a report on Friday that a flare had been set off over the harbour, which led to the RNLI boats from Sunderland and Hartlepool and Coastguard teams from Sunderland and Seaham being launched.

On Monday police took a call from a man in Frank Avenue who said he thought one had been set off on the Deneside estate and the Coastguard took two further calls, one from Windermere Road, in Westlea, and another in nearby Grasmere, off Jubilee Avenue, saying they had also seen the flare.

The RNLI lifeboat from Sunderland and Seaham Coastguard were called out, with the coast and waters from Pincushion Rock, Ryhope, and Nose's Point, Dawdon, covered.

Both times the organisations were stood down when further information confirmed the alarms had been false.

Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to contact Durham Police on 0345 60 60 365 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Source: sunderlandecho.com