By Lisa Ramsden
Arsonists setting light to our precious landscape should be treated as “pariahs”, according to Environment Minister Andrew Muir.
Speaking in Newcastle on Monday evening, and with Slieve Donard and its neighbouring mountains cloaked in smoke as a major blaze continued to burn on the outskirts of the town, he appealed for people to identify those responsible.
In what he described as “a clear message to the people of Northern Ireland,” Mr Muir did not hold back when it came to criticising those responsible for the blazes.
“This is madness, and this behaviour just needs to stop,” he said.
“By the grace of God no-one has been killed with this. My message, quite clearly, is that people should stop lighting fires – not just on the mountains, but on the edge of the mountains as well.”
In the current issue of the Mourne Observer, local councillors and environmentalists react to the devastation that has been caused to the Mountains.
