A scheme to discourage children from starting grass fires in the Bargoed area has been deemed a success.
‘Project Bernie’ ran for a six week period, covering the Easter holidays, and saw the number of deliberate fires fall by 22%.
Superintendent Jon Burley, chair of the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership said: “Project Bernie was a wonderful example of the types of results that can be achieved when a number of different agencies work together towards a common goal.
“This excellent initiative was based on the principles of education, diversion and enforcement, and by working hard in each of these key areas, we were, as one team, able to make a real positive difference.”
Throughout the project, hundreds of local youngsters got the opportunity to take part in a number of activities. These included becoming a firefighter for a day, ‘bush craft’ survival skills, learning how to design and create a piece of fire themed art, and training sessions with the Newport Gwent Dragons.
Rob Morris, group manager and head of community safety and partnerships at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The people responsible for starting these types of fires need to understand that the fires severely damage much of the countryside surrounding their communities.
“They are also putting lives in danger as it can take us a few minutes longer to respond to incidents in the towns and villages of Caerphilly County Borough if we are on top of a mountain tackling a forest fire.”