SHOCKING new figures have revealed that patients sparked a third of all fires in Fife hospitals over the last five years.

Of the 30 fires in the Kingdom’s 15 hospitals between 2009 and 2014, 11 were caused by patients setting light to everything from their own bedding and laundry, to toilet paper and alcohol hand gel.

Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline saw three fires, two of which involved patients.

One involved a patient who had used a lighter to set fire to paper towels in a toilet sink.

Another patient set light to a waste bin in the smoking room, while the third incident was a “minor” fire in a fridge.

There was only one mishap at Lynebank, where food was left unattended in an incorrectly programme microwave and ignited inside the oven.

The Victoria in Kirkcaldy had the highest number of fires, 11, out of all Fife’s hospitals.

These included two cases of confused patients setting alight their bedding; a disruptive patient setting fire to a box of tissues in a side room; a fallen lamp scorching a chair cover; and contractors lighting vapours from industrial solvent in a shower room.

The other six incidents involved “carelessly discarded” cigarettes, which sparked bark in flower beds and waste bins in and around the Vic.

The bizarre causes of fires at other Fife hospitals included a patient lighting tissues in their own pocket, a deep fryer accidentally switched on and a toaster igniting while in use.

Jim Leiper, NHS Fife director of estates, facilities and capital services, said, “We work closely with our colleagues in Health Facilities Scotland to ensure that all of our hospitals are suitably protected against fire.

“All hospital facilities in Fife adhere to the NHS Scotland Firecode.”