DENBIGHSHIRE residents have voiced their anger at the Ffrith Beach fire that occurred yesterday, which many believe was deliberate.

Flames could be seen for miles last night as two North Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews attended the fire that spread rapidly among the dunes of Ffrith Beach on the Prestatyn coastline.

Footage of the fire last night:

Denbighshire County Councillor Paul Penlington, who lives nearby, attended the scene last night, and sympathised with exasperated residents.

Mr Penlington said: “It was potentially very serious.

“If the fire brigade hadn’t arrived at the time it did it probably would have reached the buildings at the Ffrith.

“There have been a number of incidents of fire-setting in that area.

“I’m really angry, it’s shocking behaviour.

“The sand dunes – apart from being wildlife areas, a number of protected species live there – it is near people’s properties and at the end of the day, they are the final line of the sea defence.”

Rhyl Journal: Firemen attending the blaze. Picture: Zoe PriceFiremen attending the blaze. Picture: Zoe Price

Across social media, residents voiced their displeasure at the situation, with one resident saying: “Just what do they get out of such criminal destruction?

“The wildlife, the beauty of our area, have they really got nothing more constructive to do?”.

Another resident said: “Ruined the sea defence system for a good few years now, that marram grass holds together the sand”, while another argued that there were “definitely stronger punishments needed”.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service tweeted information about reporting information on deliberate fires:

Councillor Penlington believes that greater community cooperation is required to tackle the problem, following a similar fire in Parkgate.

Mr Penlington added: “You can’t expect any one agency to deal with it, nobody has got the resources anymore.

“I think it’s going to take a whole community approach to engage with young people, to try to get them involved with community activities instead of causing difficulties like they do at the moment.

“If we got young people planting at the sand dunes, they might start to appreciate what they’re about, and if we got younger people to engage with older people they might understand why older people don’t appreciate their behaviour.”