SOUTH Wales Fire and Rescue Service received more than 300 hoax phone calls in the past year.

346 hoax calls were made to the fire service according to the latest performance statistics data for the year 2019-20.

These hoax calls caused 227 unnecessary mobilisations of fire crews in south Wales.

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The fire service reminded residents that each hoax call costs a great deal of time and consumes valuable resources - wasting of public funds.

Most importantly, making hoax calls can cost lives.

There is also the threat of prosecution for those making such calls, which could result in a prison sentence or a fine of up to £5,000.

Throughout the 12 month period, the fire service attended at total of 16,866 incidents.

Of these, 23 per cent (3,809) were deliberate fires, while 10 per cent (1,676) were accidental fires.

There were 7,833 occasions where the fire service were called out, but it was a false alarm.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended 991 crashes, which equates to six per cent of call outs.

A further 15 per cent of call outs were to other non-fire incidents (2,557 call outs).

The data also shows the impact of the service in the community,

Fire crews carried out 15,814 home fire safety checks, and also made 991 visits to schools to educate youngsters about fire safety and what to do in the event of a fire.