£1.9m spent tackling gorse blazes across NW

THE Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) spent £338,000 tackling 134 gorse fires in Londonderry this year.

The total sum spent tackling 754 blazes across the entire North West area was a staggering £1,901,000.

The cost ot the public purse of tackling 3,177 incidents between January and June was £8,009,000/

Public Safety Minister Edwin Poots outlined the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) figures broken down by Station Areas and based on the average cost of mobilisation.