Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service is hosting its first ever Safe Summer Fun Day on Saturday July 19th from 10.30am - 4pm.

The event at Gloucester South Fire Station on Tuffley Road, Gloucester will feature a host of fun activities from fire truck demonstrations to go karts and face painting, as well as bringing home an important safe summer holiday message.

Visitors can also take a tour around the newest safety centre in the country, Skillzone, and children can take part in a safety treasure hunt with the centre's Staysafeatron robots.

In addition, the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership will host a mini Level 1 Bikeability session, designed to help youngsters develop the skills and confidence they need to ride their bikes safely on the road. They will be joined by the Glos Bike Project who will be offering free bike safety checks and free bike marking.

Will Windsor-Clive, cabinet member responsible for community safety, said: "Summer is the time when people are out and about more; hitting the roads for their holidays, playing water games in the garden and lighting the BBQs. We want to make sure that everyone is having fun but at the same taking simple steps to stay safe. The Safe Summer Fun Day is a perfect way to demonstrate that message."

Exhibitors on the day also include the Police, the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, British Red Cross and The Gloucester Bike Project.

Stewart Edgar, Chief Fire Officer for Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service, said: "As well as being a fantastic day packed full of fun activities to keep you entertained, the flagship event will send out a really important summer safe message. We will also be using Twitter and Facebook in the weeks leading up to the event to promote top safety tips covering road safety, fire safety and water safety."

Primary schools in Gloucestershire are being invited to bring their Year 5 pupils for a free visit to the county’s only safety centre, SkillZONE.

SkillZONE is delighted to be rolling out the offer to all  236 state primary, junior and special schools after a £35,000 initiative was agreed by Gloucestershire County Council to be used in the 2014/15 budget.

The Gloucester centre, which opened just over a year ago, has a mock village that gives groups the chance to experience 16 safety scenarios that enable young people to make decisions about staying safe.

Around a third of primary schools have been to SkillZONE and research has shown that a 2 hour safety tour at the centre is particularly useful to Year 5 pupils as it ties in with their PSHE curriculum.

SkillZONE will be contacting primary schools in five phases over the next three months inviting them to book a free trip for Year 5 students through its online booking system.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer Stewart Edgar says; “Keeping young people safe and the prevention of accidents and injuries is integral to our role. SkillZONE tackles this by teaching children how to make life-saving decisions whether that’s wearing a seatbelt or how to evacuate from a house fire.”

“I am thrilled we are able to provide these safety lessons to every Year 5 child in Gloucestershire and I believe they will leave us armoured with essential life skills which they can share with their families.”

Cllr Will Windsor-Clive, cabinet member for fire, planning and infrastructure, said: “We know that children can gain so much from visiting SkillZONE and it’s great news that more classes could now benefit from its important safety lessons.”

All school groups will be taught about road safety, fire safety and hazards in the home and teachers will be able to choose a further 6 scenarios covering areas such as water safety, an internet cafe, a magistrates court or a shop.

To find out more information about SkillZONE visit http://skillzone.glosfire.gov.uk/