COUNCIL tenants in Pendle have been banned from holding bonfires in their gardens because they cause too much damage.

The warning came from staff at the council's housing services department who said they will not tolerate people staging bonfires on land on its housing estates or in the gardens of council properties.

The council stated that if any damage was caused due to having bonfires or fireworks, the person responsible would have to pay for the damage.

Officers have also threatened to take possession proceedings against any tenant who causes any bonfire or firework-related damage.

Patrick Collins, the council's housing manager, said: "If we find any bonfires being built on land on or around our estates, we will have them removed immediately. These bonfires are unsupervised and are often dangerous but also cause a lot of damage to grassed areas."

Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, the council's portfolio holder for housing, added: "Each year it costs the housing service a lot of money to clear away the debris and re-instate the land. We don't wish to be killjoys but we could spend the money we use on more useful things.

"Various community bonfire and firework displays will be taking place throughout the borough instead."