Calabria governor pledges zero tolerance for arsonists.

Authorities in Italy's southern Calabria region used a drone to catch an arsonist in the act, amid a spate of wildfires in the south of the country in recent days, particularly in Sicily.

Calabria governor Roberto Occhiuto slammed the actions of the arsonist who, after becoming aware that he was being filmed lighting fires in the countryside, reacted by throwing stones at the drone.

The man was followed by the drone as he fled the scene on a motorbike and was reported to police, said Occhiuto, who posted footage of the incident on social media.

The video was subsequently shared by Italy's deputy premier and foreign minister Antonio Tajani who applauded the drone operation "to stop these criminals".

Bene la denuncia del Presidente della Regione Calabria Occhiuto che grazie ad un'operazione di deterrenza con i droni è riuscito a stanare un piromane che aveva già appiccato alcuni incendi. Solo con un accurato controllo del territorio si possono fermare questi criminali. pic.twitter.com/LFR4A8Tl4c

— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) July 26, 2023

"Calabria is a civilised region but it also has some imbeciles who go to set fires in the woods, like this arsonist we caught yesterday" - Occhiuto said in the video - "Where does he come from, the caves?"

Occhiuto said that the region had 30 drones at its disposal to monitor the wildfire situation, stressing there would be a "zero tolerance" policy towards arsonists.

The pledge comes as Sicily requests emergency measures from the central government to battle wildfires raging on the island.