THERE were 933 grass fires across South Wales in April alone this year, AMs heard on Tuesday.

Public services minister Leighton Andrews gave an update at the Senedd where he told the chamber there had been five arrests in Gwent relating to the problem between March and the end of May.

Mountain fires stretching across Gwent from Ebbw Vale to Gaer and Caerphilly as well as elsewhere in Wales prompted the Welsh Government to call an urgent summit meeting with emergency services at the end of April on how to tackle the problem.

Of the 933 fires in South Wales, fire service believe 902 were started deliberately, he added.

Mr Andrews said: “I strongly condemn those who set these fires and support the tough stance taken by the police in bringing them to justice. These fires potentially put lives at risk and caused extensive damage to pastureland, which led to the loss of wildlife.

At the height of the outbreak, fire service officers visited every secondary school in the worst-affected areas to tell pupils the risks of starting fires.

Mr Andrews said the fire service was considering using using drones for surveillance and people could download an app to help monitor mountain areas.

Work in schools to deter people will continue, he said, although he stressed it was not just young people starting fires.

Natural Resources Wales is considering how changes to land and forestry management could control the spread of fire, such as developing fire breaks in the Valleys hillsides marred by fire.

He added: “Whilst the weather and environmental conditions are no longer, at the present time, conducive to grass fires, the threat has not gone away. We cannot be complacent.”

Conservative AM for South Wales East William Graham said: “On June 10, there was a deliberately-lit grass fire on Eglwysilan mountain in Caerphilly. Fire crews were engaged for over six hours at a cost to the taxpayer of approximately £1,200 an hour, and 6 hectares of mountainside were destroyed.”

He asked whether arsonists starting grass fires could potentially get higher sentences as a deterrent.

Mr Andrews replied: “I would like to review that question subsequent to the arrests that have proceeded and any observations that we have from the police on those.”

Authorities will continue to work together to deal with grass fires, he said.