Transforming Telford

The pro-active campaign to prevent secondary fires on Woodside, such as those lit from rubbish and in bins, fell from 46 between April and December 2006 to 41 between the same period last year. This is a huge reduction to the 101 reported secondary fires for the same time in 2005.

The results have been attributed to a pro-active campaign by the Woodside Community Safety Initiative (CSI), which involves Telford & Wrekin Council, The Wrekin Housing Trust, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service and West Mercia Constabulary's Local Policing Team for Woodside.

The campaign has involved work throughout the year involving leaflet drops to residents urging them to prevent illegal bonfires by reporting fly tipping – often the target of arsonists - and not putting out bins until collection day. Rubbish on the estate was also clearly away promptly.

Phil Heywood, Woodside’s Neighbourhood Manager, said: “Nuisance fires were identified as one of the major issues of anti-social behaviour on Woodside by residents and agencies such as the fire service. We realised that the best approach would be for the agencies involved to work together to get to the heart of the problem and the figures show that it is paying off.”

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Dave Bishton, the Station Manager at Tweedale Fire Station, said: “It is very pleasing to see that the hard work carried out by all the agencies involved is showing positive results. We are very aware of the impact that such nuisance fires has on the local community as well as on our ability to respond to more serious incidents in the area. We will continue to carry out initiatives and work with both our partners and local residents in the Woodside area to hopefully ensure the downward trend of such incidents is maintained.”

ENDS