FIRE CHIEFS are urging the public to name and shame malicious hoax callers from Gwent who are putting lives at risk and costing taxpayers more than £600,000 per year.

Making a hoax call is illegal.

If you recognise any of the people in these calls call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Next time they make a hoax call they could be taking a fire engine away from a genuine emergency.

You can now hear examples of hoax callers and on this website as part of a zero tolerance campaign launched by South Wales Fire Service.

 

 

The campaign will feature particularly nasty or persistent callers that continually blight the life and death work done by firefighters.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service are asking the public to contact Crimestoppers if they recognise offenders.

And bosses warned serial hoaxers, many of who are adults, will face prosecution.

Jennie Griffiths, group manager of South Wales Fire Control, said Newport was an historic hotspot area for malicious calls and was being specifically targeted as part of the campaign.

She told how some hoaxers reported multiple vehicle road accidents and serious chemical spills to maliciously waste as many emergency service resources as possible.

In the last financial year crews attended 376 hoax incidents in Gwent at a cost of £639,200.

Each hoax call, taking into account mobilisation, staff, equipment and fuel costs, hits the Fire Service, and taxpayers, with a £1,700 bill.

Ms Griffiths added: "Making hoax calls is very dangerous and does put lives at risk. The message to people who continue to make them is that you will get found out and could be prosecuted.

"We really do have a zero tolerance approach now."

Fire officers have already begun a concerted education campaign at schools throughout Gwent and are also reaping the rewards from a new hi-tech detection system.

New figures revealed the £250,000 Visions system, adopted by the Fire Service last year, saved the community more than £70,000 in wasted call-out costs during the second quarter of this year compared to 2006.

The system, which identifies the number and locations of callers within seconds, has allowed control staff to recognise if callers are lying about their location.

Fire officers are also working closely with mobile phone companies to identify hoaxers with registered numbers and cut off lines from unidentified pay-as-you-go phones.

Between April and June this year there were 80 hoax calls in Gwent compared to 123 during same quarter in 2006.

You can now hear examples of hoax callers and on this website as part of a zero tolerance campaign launched by South Wales Fire Service.

The campaign will feature particularly nasty or persistent callers that continually blight the life and death work done by firefighters.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service are asking the public to contact Crimestoppers if they recognise offenders.

And bosses warned serial hoaxers, many of who are adults, will face prosecution.

Jennie Griffiths, group manager of South Wales Fire Control, said Newport was an historic hotspot area for malicious calls and was being specifically targeted as part of the campaign.

She told how some hoaxers reported multiple vehicle road accidents and serious chemical spills to maliciously waste as many emergency service resources as possible.

In the last financial year crews attended 376 hoax incidents in Gwent at a cost of £639,200.

Each hoax call, taking into account mobilisation, staff, equipment and fuel costs, hits the Fire Service, and taxpayers, with a £1,700 bill.

Ms Griffiths added: "Making hoax calls is very dangerous and does put lives at risk. The message to people who continue to make them is that you will get found out and could be prosecuted.

"We really do have a zero tolerance approach now."

Fire officers have already begun a concerted education campaign at schools throughout Gwent and are also reaping the rewards from a new hi-tech detection system.

New figures revealed the £250,000 Visions system, adopted by the Fire Service last year, saved the community more than £70,000 in wasted call-out costs during the second quarter of this year compared to 2006.

The system, which identifies the number and locations of callers within seconds, has allowed control staff to recognise if callers are lying about their location.

Fire officers are also working closely with mobile phone companies to identify hoaxers with registered numbers and cut off lines from unidentified pay-as-you-go phones.

Between April and June this year there were 80 hoax calls in Gwent compared to 123 during same quarter in 2006.