CALL-OUTS to the fire brigade have dropped by more than 10 per cent.

In the last year the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service attended 2,058 less incidents than the year before.

There was also a drop in hoax calls, with the brigade called to 268 hoax calls, down from 306 the previous year and 1,599 in 2003.

Overall in the 12 months leading up to the end of March 2013 firefighters attended 14,081 incidents compared to 16,139 in the same period the year before – a drop of 13 per cent.