South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) is encouraging drivers and home owners of South Wales to celebrate safely and to put their safety at the top of their Christmas List this holiday period.

SWFRS have released a Christmas advert – ‘Should Have Crashed’ on the risks of drinking and driving and a short animation highlighting the dangers over the festive holiday period. The animation “Christmas Message” illustrates the consequences of over loaded sockets, faulty wiring on Christmas decorations and leaving cooking unattended.

Over the Christmas period in 2014, the Service attended 32 road traffic collisions (RTCs) where person(s) had to be extricated or released from vehicles. 75% of those RTCs took place on non-major roads, with just a quarter being on the M4 or A-Roads. SWFRS is working with drivers across South Wales to remind them that alcohol remains in the blood stream for over 12 hours, which equates to two bottles of wine, and that they might be at risk of being over the limit if driving before this.

The ‘Should Have Crashed’ campaign emphasises the da ngers involved when drivers attempt to drink and drive – even after just a glass of wine or a pint of beer. In the last three festive periods, when roads are usually busier (15th Dec to 11th Jan), there were 297 crashes resulting in 4 were fatalities and 116 casualties hospitalised.

Simon Brown, Head of Road Safety at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said, “Over the Christmas period, we all like to relax, catch up with friends and family, as well as enjoy the festive food and drink. However, as a Service we want to encourage the public to celebrate safely and if they do fancy a tipple at their work’s Christmas do or at a friend’s festive gathering, then why not organise a lift or a taxi home, maybe even a bed for a night at a friend’s. Don’t risk your life and others by getting behind the wheel after a drink.”

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake, the road safety charity, commented “As a charity that supports bereaved and injured road crash victims, we witness the suffering that drink driving inflicts, and appeal to everyone in South Wales to help put a stop to it. Drink and drug driving deaths and injuries are cruel and needless, ending and ruining lives and leaving traumatised families to pick up the pieces. If you’re driving home from celebrations this festive season, it’s vital you take your responsibility for people’s safety seriously, and stay completely off booze and drugs or plan to get home by taxi or public transport. It’s a fact that even small amounts of alcohol or drugs significantly increase your risk of causing a crash.”

It only takes a minute for Christmas to go up in smoke. As a result SWFRS are urging people to take extra care as they get into the festive spirit this Christmas - dry Christmas trees, decorations and wrapped presents can all provide means for a fire to spread in the home.

After 12 months packed away in the loft, Christmas lights can easily become electrically unsafe.

To help prevent the most common electrical problems with Christmas lights, and to enjoy a safe and happy festive season, Fire Kills have issued top tips to stay safe from fire this Christmas:

Ensure you have a working smoke alarm installed on all levels of your home. Test your smoke alarms weekly and never remove batteries to power presents!

Never leave cooking unattended and avoid cooking whilst drunk. The majority of fires start in the kitchen so this is a high risk area. Always turn off kitchen appliances when you have finished cooking.

Never leave candles unattended. Keep decorations, cards and wrapping paper away from candles, fires, lights and heaters.

Ensure you switch off fairy lights and unplug them before you go to bed, or leave the house. Check your Christmas tree lights conform to the British Standard (BS EN 60598).

Always use an RCD (residual current device) on outdoor electrical equipment (This safety device can save lives by instantly switching off the power if there is a fault and can be found in any DIY store).

Don’t overload sockets - ensure only one plug per socket. Always turn off plugs when they are not in use, except those that are designed to be left on, like freezers.

Make sure cigarettes are extinguished properly and never smoke in bed. Put it out, right out.

Check on older relatives and neighbours this Christmas to ensure their safety at this time of year.

Ask the experts - Many fire and rescue services in Wales offer free home fire risk checks to identify potential fire risks and advise what to do to reduce or prevent them. This may even include the free installation of a smoke alarm - the ideal gift for keeping your family safe.

And finally, in the event of fire: get out, stay out and call 999.