Calabria region deploys drones to catch 32 suspected arsonists in the act in past two weeks.

A 10-year-old boy was surprised by a drone as he set fire to vegetation in the Calabrian countryside in southern Italy, the president of the region announced on Wednesday.

Roberto Occhiuto posted footage of the incident, which took place in Zungri in the province of Vibo Valentia, on his Facebook page.

The video shows the child lighting several fires and, once he realises he is being followed by a drone, running back to his grandfather who had allegedly instructed him to carry out the illegal task.

The man reacts by cursing at the drone before driving back in his tractor to extinguish the flames.

"Thanks to drones we caught 32 arsonists in two weeks", Occhiuto said on Facebook.

In late July Occhiuto released footage of a suspected arsonist who threw stones at a drone after allegedly being caught lighting fires.

#Incendi: dall'inizio dell'anno, quasi 59.000 ettari di superficie bruciata, di cui il 16% erano #ecosistemi forestali.
In #Sardegna, l'#incendio che ha colpito #Gairo ha bruciato finora circa 30 ettari di cui 23 di ecosistemi forestali.https://t.co/22sVCYzcVu pic.twitter.com/oFBSZMlLfg

— ISPRA - Ist. Sup. Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale (@ISPRA_Press) August 8, 2023

Almost 59,000 hectares of land in Italy have been burned by wildfires so far this year, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).

The report - which relates to the period 1 January to 6 August - shows that 93 per cent of the wildfires in Italy were registered in Sicily (75 per cent) and Calabria (18 per cent).

The province of Palermo was the worst affected, with more than 15,500 hectares burned, followed by the Reggio Calabria province which lost 8,500 hectares to fire, according to the ISPRA report.