A record number of fire safety notices about buildings were issued in Norfolk last year, new figures show.

It comes as the Fire Brigades Union said deregulation and complacency have created a "crisis in building safety".

Figures from the Home Office show 592 fire safety inspections or audits were carried out by Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service in the year to March.

This resulted in 33 formal notifications. These are issued in the most serious cases or where fire safety non-compliance was raised previously but not resolved.

This was up from 25 formal notifications the year before and the highest since comparable records started in 2010-11.

READ MORE: Norfolk fire crews called to 825 arsons attacks in 12 months

Among the formal notifications issued in the county were two for purpose-built flats and one to a hospital.

There was one prosecution in a serious case of non-compliance.

Fire safety notices are issued were safety measures are inadequateFire safety notices are issued were safety measures are inadequate (Image: PA)

Fire safety notices are generally issued if it is deemed that the standard of safety measures are inadequate.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: "Ignored warnings result in tragedies, as we saw with the Grenfell Tower fire."

He added: "Deregulation has been driven by the lobbying of private business interests.

"Meanwhile, fire safety has been hit by brutal cuts with fewer inspectors and overstretched resources."

READ MORE: More people die in non-fire emergencies in Norfolk last year

A Government spokesperson said: "Fire and rescue authorities enforce the necessary fire safety legislation and when building owners fail to comply, this can include pursuing prosecution.

"We will take action to improve building safety, including accelerating cladding remediation and holding those responsible for safety issues to account."

It comes as data shows firefighters in Norfolk are getting to fires quicker than they did a year ago.

The average response time for serious fires was 10 minutes and 39 seconds. This is an improvement on the year before but slower than a decade ago, when the average response time was nine minutes and 34 seconds.