Firefighters have thanked the people of South Yorkshire for their support with a campaign to reach Christmas number one.

Central red watch and 999 operators were part of the drive to reach the festive song summit with ‘Chip Pan’ by the Everly Pregnant Brothers.

Thousands of people have downloaded the track and, although it’s unlikely to reach the top spot when the official chart is released later on Friday, the campaign has helped raise awareness of kitchen fire safety and firefighters on duty over Christmas amongst millions of people.

Highlights of the assault on the yuletide music chart included two national television appearances and more than five million views online for a video which accompanies the song. Leaders, businesses and celebrities from across Sheffield also threw in their support for the campaign.

It’s thought that sales of the track will have also raised thousands of pounds for Shelter and Age UK Sheffield, once official download figures are collated.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Martin Blunden, said: “This campaign was clearly a bit of festive fun, but with chip pans still responsible for large numbers of house fires every year, we think it’s important to raise awareness of important safety messages in different ways.

“We also wanted to remind people that across the UK thousands of firefighters and 999 operators- not to mention many more of their colleagues in the emergency services- will be on duty this Christmas keeping people safe.

“None of it would have been possible without the work of firefighters at Central fire station or the Everly Pregnant Brothers. But we also want to thank people locally for really getting behind the campaign in a big way.”

For more information on preventing fires, visit www.syfire.gov.uk