Following the two fires in the dunes at Southport this week, we continue to work with Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and @Green_Sefton to try and identify those responsible.

The Sefton Coastline is a ‘no-barbecue’ zone. Together we will be actively discouraging people from taking barbecues to the beach and other dune areas, such as the Jubilee Trail and the old sandworks, where groups have been seen gathering. The risk of fire spreading is high, due to the long period of hot and dry weather. In addition, where groups are gathered, there may be breaches to the Covid-19 restrictions.

These areas and more will be patrolled over the coming weekend, utilising all our off road capacity vehicles.

We understand that under normal circumstances this period of warm weather would make people want to be outside and visit tourist areas. We are concerned that more vehicles are on the roads than earlier in the restrictions. Please remember, the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over. The government instructions to stay at home remain in place. The only reasons you should leave your home are:

1: shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible

2: one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household

3: any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid or escape risk of injury or harm, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person

4: travelling for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home

In addition, we continue to get calls about people not of the same family gathering at homes. Please remember you should not be visiting, or being visited by anyone that does not live at your home address, to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Do not try to ‘get around’ the restrictions which are in place to reduce the risk of spreading this potentially lethal virus.

Stay safe.

There's been one in Formby Pinewoods as well.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news...aused-18146011

'Discouraged' isn't good enough - they should be prosecuting people.

Originally Posted by Lamparilla

'Discouraged' isn't good enough - they should be prosecuting people.

Exactly! The vast majority of the public will only have so much patience. Throw the idiots in prison. Now that is the way to "discourage" fools. For God's sake, we are fighting a war.

Epidemic or not, I find it difficult to believe that there are people so utterly stupid and devoid of the least bit of intelligence, that they will light fires on and among tinder dry grass and shrub.

Originally Posted by lostsoul

Exactly! The vast majority of the public will only have so much patience. Throw the idiots in prison. Now that is the way to "discourage" fools. For God's sake, we are fighting a war.

Better still see what they do in India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nomThT6I5uU

I mentioned on a Forum thread that I used to live in Cyprus and follow the daily news there.

The police are publishing figures of how many people they stopped and how many were booked for breaching lockdown regulations. Yesterday night, (6pm Friday to 6am Saturday) they stopped over 3000 drivers and pedestrians and booked 87 people.

Originally Posted by silver fox

Epidemic or not, I find it difficult to believe that there are people so utterly stupid and devoid of the least bit of intelligence, that they will light fires on and among tinder dry grass and shrub.

There are a lot of them around, apart from 2 incidents in Ainsdale 1 in the Formby Pinewoods there have been several on the Moors around Bolton, Manchester and in Yorkshire.

I

Originally Posted by Alikado

There are a lot of them around, apart from 2 incidents in Ainsdale 1 in the Formby Pinewoods there have been several on the Moors around Bolton, Manchester and in Yorkshire.

Idiot season is in full swing early this year. If the Police stop them they should be arrested, these people should be named and shamed and sent back where they came from. This is a pandemic and as such people should be dealt with seriously.

Originally Posted by silver fox

Epidemic or not, I find it difficult to believe that there are people so utterly stupid and devoid of the least bit of intelligence, that they will light fires on and among tinder dry grass and shrub.

Their tiny brains cannot think of things to do - they are bored! There was a photo on Facebook yesterday from a lady who took photos of yobs setting light to the bracken. Send the Police Quad bikes over the Dunes, that is where many are hiding.