Firefighters tackle dozens of bonfires across Shropshire

Crews in Telford, Shrewsbury and Market Drayton were last night called to 28 incidents involving rubbish set alight as bonfires. Most of these had been built up during the day and were left without supervision during the evening enabling anyone to put a match to them.

Martin Timmis, head of prevention and protection at Shropshire Fire and Rescue, said that despite the incidents, no one was injured.

He said: "I'd particularly like to pay tribute to the young people of Shropshire who co-operated with firefighters sent to deal with potentially unsafe bonfires.

"So far as we know, there have been no reports of people being injured as a result of bonfires in our county."

The largest incident of the evening was at Bishopdale in Brookside, Telford. The alarm was raised at 5.50pm with reports of a large bonfire out of control. Later in the evening crews returned to Bishopdale where a bonfire in a garden spread to a fence at 8.45pm.

At Wantage, Woodside, Telford, a fire crew from Tweedale was called to an out of control bonfire in a garden at 6.05pm, dealing with it just five minutes.

The fire service were also alerted to black smoke in Bridgnorth, and crews found a fire under a bridge near The Cankhorn at around 10.30pm, and spent 15 minutes putting it out.

Darren Smith, watch manager at Telford Central, said: "Our advice to people planning events during the week or over the weekend would be to make sure you have permission from the landowner, make sure it is on open space and there is adequate means to put it out.

"Anyone wishing to hold a bonfire should check with the council first or make sure they have permission from the landowner.

"They should also contact the control room prior to lighting the bonfire and also when it is out."