FIRE crews have issued a safety warning after they were called to dozens of dangerous bonfires across East Lancashire.

Firefighters had to extinguish 49 fires in the area on Bonfire Night, including 18 in Blackburn, whose crew was the busiest in the county.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Meanwhile, a grandma was left badly shaken after a large firework smashed through the double glazing of her bedroom window in Burnley.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) is now urging people against lighting their own bonfires and fireworks this weekend, and to attend an organised display instead.

Crews said Burnley pensioner Kathleen Cawtherley 'could have been killed' by the rocket that flew into her bedroom in Holmes Square, setting fire to her curtains and duvet cover.

And the terrified 65-year-old added: "I was watching television and just heard a massive bang. I couldn't see for the smoke and was so frightened. It's lucky I wasn't in bed because I probably would have been killed."

East Lancashire crews were called to more than 100 incidents between 5pm on Wednesday and 5am the next morning, including 84 bonfires which were lit in private gardens, fields and public spaces. Forty-nine were deemed to be dangerous and had to be extinguished.

Blackburn with Darwen councillor David Foster has called for a clampdown on those who light dangerous fires, and more restrictions on the sales of fireworks.

He said: "We have raised concerns in the past about the easy availability of fireworks, because anybody seems to be able to get hold of them from these shops that pop up at this time.

"It's about educating the public and encouraging them to go to an organised display, but there also needs to be proper punishment for those who are irresponsible and put people in danger."

John Taylor, spokesman for LFRS, said: "Bonfires are not illegal but can potentially become very dangerous.

"Our crews ensure that fires do not endanger lives or people's property, but we would obviously urge people to go to a bonfire that's properly organised.

"Of course we'd like to see fewer incidents than this over weekend, although we do have the capacity to deal with them if necessary."

There are no laws against having your own bonfire, but the authorities can step in when they cause a nuisance or become dangerous. Those who repeatedly light nuisance fires can be issued an ‘abatement notice’, which can be followed by a £5,000 if they don’t obey it.

Jon Charters, group manager at LFRS, said: “The number of incidents that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service attended this Bonfire Night was similar to the number of incidents on Bonfire Night in 2013.

“There were a very small minority of people however who thought that it would be a good idea to let off fireworks in properties. Not only could this act cause a very serious property fire, it could also kill or severely injure people who were in the property at the time.

"Each incident reported to us is investigated by the Police and every effort will be made to catch the people responsible. If anyone has any information about these incidents, you can call the Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”