Children have been captured on camera starting a grass fire amongst the sand dunes in Swansea .

The images were taken by a resident in the area, who has asked not to be named. 

He said the incident happened on Wednesday evening near the Swansea observatory.

The resident said he was taking photos of the sunset at around 5.30pm when he spotted the youths in the distance.

The 65-year-old said: "This is a real problem, we get so much trouble with gangs of kids here. They couldn't care less.

"I was quite far away from the fire but I zoomed in on my camera to take the pictures. It's the third or fourth night on the trot that this has happened.

"I'm just fed up with it. Every year a fire has started here. There's houses overlooking the dunes with balconies and furniture, the flames could easily spread in the wind."

The incident happened at Swansea Bay sand dunes, located near Swansea observatory

Paul McAdam, admin for Swansea Facebook group MQRA - Maritime Quarter Residents Association, said the fires were causing problems for residents.

"This has been ongoing for years, as soon as it's half term and nice weather kids think it is okay to deliberately start a fire.

"Kids were deliberately setting fire and vandalising wooden fencing in the dunes last night. This could have been a very serious incident as there were young children and dogs everywhere," he said.

Mr McAdam said he didn't understand why youths were setting fire to the dunes.

The resident said that he was taking photos of the sunset at around 5.30pm when he spotted the youths in the distance

He added: "We think they were challenged and ran off before it took hold, which is a blessing as the dunes are tinder dry at the moment.

"We have reached the end of our tether. It's very difficult to catch anyone, this is the first time that we have managed to get pictures of the incident.

"Police and fire service are up here on numerous occasions, it's wasting their time. The kids hear the police sirens and they just run away leaving the fire burning."

Tips on what to do in a fire

Video Loading

The recent warm weather has seen crews across Wales battling a number of grass fires over the last few days.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it had fought 59 fires in the last week.

It is currently the season for controlled burning, when farmers can torch away dead debris to make way for new growth. The controlled burning period for upland areas is open until March 31 and March 15 for all other areas.

But many of the recent fires were believed to have been accidentally or deliberately started, and the unseasonably warm weather, combined with half term for schools, are thought to have been part of the reason.

In north Wales, one grass fire endangered the life of a man on his tractor in Glyndyfrdwy, Denbighshire, after he became trapped by the flames.

The recent warm weather has seen crews across Wales battling a number of grass fires over the last few days

On Wednesday, firefighters from Reynoldston attended a grass fire in the Llangennith area.

Approximately two hectares of grass was well alight and allowed to burn, under the supervision of the fire service, due to the challenging terrain surrounding the location of the fire.

And earlier this week, South Wales Fire and Rescue crews were fighting a fire in Tonyrefail .

The fire service is appealing to anyone who may know how it was started to get in touch.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "Since Friday, February 23, 2019, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has attended 59 incidents of grass fires within its service areas.

"These incidents were of varying size, cause and severity."

It also offered advice to prevent a controlled burning from getting out of hand.

A spokesman for the service said: "To conduct a controlled burn, you need to complete a Burn Plan. You can find a Burn Plan on the Welsh Government website .

"Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service advises all landowners who wish to conduct a controlled burn to consider the following advice: 

"Plan your burn and ensure you have enough resources available to ensure it can be managed effectively and extinguished if required.

"Inform your neighbours and ensure that livestock is in a safe place away from the fire path.

"Fire will go uphill more quickly and will be more intense than it will downhill.

"Check the weather conditions, in particular the wind direction and strength. Wind strength will have a big impact on a fire. Remember - it can spread quicker than you can run.

"Consider cutting a ‘fire break’ to prevent fire spread.

"Only burn a small manageable area at a time.

"If you light it, don't leave it. It is your responsibility.

"Finally, inform your local Fire Service Control on 01268 909404 before you start burning. Stay with the fire and re-contact Fire Control when burning is complete."

Visitors on Llandudno's North Shore basked in the sunshine as temperatures rose

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service did not reveal how many fires it had been dealing with, but confirmed it had also been fighting blazes which had been started deliberately.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "We have had a number of incidents across south Wales over the past week and we would encourage anyone who sees any grass fires, please move to a safe place and call 999 immediately; provide as much detail as you can - size of fire, location and terrain." 

Deliberate fire setting is a crime and if you have any information on someone who started a deliberate fire please report it here or call their Fire Crime team on 08007317287.

Last year 6,372 fires were started deliberately across Wales, causing injury as well as damage to both homes and wildlife.

The map below shows where all the deliberate fires happened. If you click on each flame you can learn more about that incident including the type of fire it was, how many people were hurt, and how long crews were there for. The map can take some time to load, particularly on mobile phones. Please be patient. 

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service added: "Starting a deliberate fire is a criminal offence. Arson and deliberate fires put lives in danger as it will take the Fire and Rescue Service longer to respond to life risk emergencies like house fires, or road traffic collisions if they are already tied up tackling a deliberately set fire.

"If you have seen or have information about a deliberately set fire, please call the Police on 101 or contact Mid and Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s Arson Reduction Unit on 01792 705130."

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 o r via an online anonymous form at  https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ which is also available in Welsh at  https://crimestoppers-uk.org/cy/ .

Young people can also report crime anonymously via Fearless.org. or www.fearless.org/cy ."