THREE?SCHOOLS CLOSED early on Monday as a result of fires.
Billowing smoke from a brush fire in St David’s, Christ Church, prematurely closed Blackman and Gollop Primary, as well as Thelma Berry Nursery just before midday.
It appears the fire was started by someone trying to destroy the 28 acres of shrubbery laden with cow itch in the district.
One fire tender and four officers from the Worthing Station tried to control the blaze, while treading cautiously through the annoying cow itch.
Irate resident Billy Eastmond expressed disappointment with the response of the authorities to dealing with the cow itch problem, saying it had forced his family to move out of their home.
“This has been a problem for over ten years and I had a young child living here so I had to move out because of over 28 acres of cow itch,” said Eastmond, after capturing and securing his dog.
“My son attends Blackman and Gollop and I was forced to call the radio programme because my son was coming home scratching.
“After I called the programme, the authorities came and cleared the cow itch from the land adjacent to the school since the school had to be closed down on the day when I called the programme. But nothing has been done about this larger section of brush and cow itch.”
With some very large and obviously ripened pods on the cow itch vines clearly in view, the fire officers used the strategy of controlled burning to deal with the fire, while destroying some of the dangerous vines and pods.
Meanwhile, Parkinson Memorial School was forced to close around 11:30 a.m. as activities were affected by smoke from a nearby bush fire. (KB)
