Those taking to the seas during the first week of the Easter holidays are being urged to proceed with caution as an area off the coast is being used for military live firing exercises.

A stretch of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan to Aberystwyth is being used by the Ministry of Defence for live firing from the Aberporth Range today (Monday, March 25) as well as Tuesday March 26 and Wednesday March 27.

The range will be active until 10pm this evening, from 9am until 6pm tomorrow and from 9am until 4pm on Wednesday.

There is no activity advised that will affect shipping on Thursday and Friday.

The firing will take place within a radius of 16.5 nautical miles.

For safety, parts of the danger area are temporarily cleared of shipping during firings.

Sailors planning a trip into Cardigan Bay are recommended to contact Range Control on 01239 813480 or 01239 813760 or VHF Channel 11 or 16 for further advice.

There will be someone available to take enquiries by one of these contact methods whilst activity is taking place in the Danger Area and between 9am and 4pm on working days.

If you telephone outside of these hours, you should leave a message and your call will be returned on the next working day.

The programme is often subject to change at short notice and it may not always be possible to provide an updated schedule online or by email so sea-goers are recommended to telephone for latest information and advice.

The MOD will be making broadcasts on IMM channel 16 and 11 under the call sign Aberporth Marine Control throughout the days of the trial.

Sailors should keep their VHF radio on and listen for broadcasts on channel 16 and 11, contact the MoD on entering or exiting the Danger Area and ensure their radar reflector is mounted correctly.

Sailors planning to navigate through the Danger Area at any time, should familiarise themselves with the safety information which can be found on website, www.aberporth.QinetiQ.com , before entering the area.

Anyone who wishes to find out more can also contact the MOD on 01239 813480 or 01239 813760 or visit www.qinetiq.com/en/aberporth.

Pilots can contact Aberporth Air Traffic Control, which provides a Danger Area Activity Information Service on 01239 813219.

Aberporth ATC also provide a Danger Area Crossing Service on the same frequency when activity inside the Danger Area means it is safe to do so.

“Any pilot wishing to cross active Danger Areas must comply with all ATC instructions,” said an MoD spokesperson.

“If they are unwilling or unable to comply then they should plan to remain clear throughout the flight.

Pilots of all aircraft types, including microlights and para-gliders, flying in the area of any of the Danger Areas should contact Aberporth Radar by radio (frequency 119.650MHz) in advance to ensure that they avoid the ranges when they are active.

Anybody who finds any metal object, such as projectile, shell or any unidentified explosive object or part of such object should immediately contact the coastguard on VHF Ch.16.

For your own safety, you should not touch or attempt to remove such objects.