Firefighters to make Clacton caravans safer

An initiative to make Clacton caravans safer has been launched by the town's fire station.

More than 9,000 pitches will be inspected by Clacton fire station's red watch over the course of the next three years, and checks have already started at Highfield Grange Holiday Park.

According to subofficer Dave Whittel, caravan fire safety is often neglected, and this is of great concern in Clacton given the proliferation of caravan sites in the area.

"We have a lot of fire advice for domestic properties, but there are so many caravan sites in Clacton," he told the Gazette.

"We have a lot of people coming here for holidays and people living on the sites, but we have nothing in place for giving fire safety advice.

"We are now treating the residential mobile homes as domestic properties, so they will be entitled to free fire safety visits if they want it."

According to Michelle Hughs, administration manager at Highfield Grange, the problem is compounded by the fact that many people are more lax when it comes to fire safety on holiday than they would be at home.

The importance of adequate caravan insurance is therefore evident for all to see.

11/07/2008 14:58:30