Council reminded of wildfire risk before fireworks

A council that is holding a fireworks event later, has been reminded of a government warning over a "very high risk of wildfires".

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) said it supported "the national alert" sent to mobile phones across England and Wales, ahead of the event in Weymouth.

It said it "cannot advise" other than supporting the government message against setting light to anything that could spark a wildfire, "including barbecues, firepits and fireworks".

The town council had said it was taking extra precautions including moving the launching barge further out to sea and had discussed plans with DWFRS.

On Saturday, council leader David Civil said: "We recognise that this decision will not be universally popular and we will liaise with all the relevant professional bodies, ensuring that it is still appropriate for the display to proceed."

Weymouth, in Dorset, traditionally has a series of firework displays over the summer, with pyrotechnics launched from a barge in the sea.

The event is part of a series of five Summer firework nights in August.

Weymouth Town Council said: "We have spoken to Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and our professional fireworks contractor, and we are reassured that we have the right risk management in place to ensure a safe and contained professional firework display."

On Thursday, DWFRS declared a major incident due to the "high number of incidents, the red wildfire alert, drought conditions and extreme heat impacting across the service area".

On Friday, the emergency alert was sent from the UK government to tens of millions of mobile phones.

It was the biggest use of the alert system since it was first introduced in 2023.