Sometimes the actors in those health and safety videos can seem a bit wooden.

Not so in this new fire brigade film - which uses stars made of latex to educated children about the dangers of arson and hoax calls.

The puppets, reminiscent of the 1980s satire show Spitting Image, have been employed by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service as the stars of a new fire safety DVD to be shown in secondary schools.

Jeremy Beard, the brigade's youth initiatives and schools education manager, said: "I could see this was an ideal way of immediately catching - and then holding - the attention of young people, so ensuring they absorb important safety messages.

"This is all part of our ongoing policy of engaging with young people throughout West Sussex, in this case with a DVD that can be shown in all secondary schools.

"We are focusing on arson and hoax calls because arson is one of the main causes of fire in the UK, including West Sussex, and hoax calls are life-threatening because they can divert resources away from real emergencies."

Five Minutes - A Hoax Story, is produced by Huddersfield-based company the Puppet Broadcasting Corporation as part of their Get Your Head Round It series of films, which tackle issues such as gun crime, sexual health and drugs.

It is the first time the company has teamed up with a fire service.

Steve Wright, creative director with the Puppet Broadcasting Corporation, said: "The DVD is about a group of teenagers on a fictitious housing estate who make a hoax call.

"The fire brigade respond to the hoax call from the teenagers which means they get delayed to a genuine fire on the other side of the estate.

"As a result a young mum loses her flat.

"By using puppets, it depersonalises the issue and allows stories to be told from a neutral point of view.

"With fictitious characters we're not discussing a real life case which makes it easier to discuss and engage with teenagers. They have a great appeal to our audience as they look pretty cool."

Peter Evans, West Sussex County Council's cabinet member for public protection, said: "This imaginative initiative is an excellent example of our firefightersí policy of getting out and about in the community to promote fire safety."

What do you think of the puppets?