Residents are being urged to attend organised firework displays rather than hold private unmanaged firework parties in their gardens during an upcoming strike by firefighters.

Cambridgeshire’s Chief Fire Officer is also calling for Halloween partygoers to take extra care with decorative pumpkins lit up with candles as the fire strike looms.

Members of the Fire Brigades Union nationally will be taking strike action for four continuous days from 6pm on Friday until 6pm on Tuesday, November 4.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is putting back-up plans in place to ensure there is fire cover across the county and that 999 emergency calls are responded to.

But this will not be a normal level of service, and the continuous strike over four days also means a reduced cover to what has been in place during previous periods of strike action.

Chief Fire Officer Graham Stagg said: “We want people to go out and enjoy themselves for Halloween and Bonfire Night this weekend, but please take extra care.

“We would urge residents to reconsider holding their own firework parties over this period and instead, support a local firework display that has been professionally organised to avoid any unfortunate accidents that could occur when handling fireworks.

“If you are holding a Halloween celebration, please be careful when putting candles inside pumpkins or using them for decoration as they can easily start a fire when situated on the wrong surfaces or near flammable materials.

“Also we would encourage people to avoid cooking when drinking alcohol and to take extra care on all of our county’s roads when you’re out and about.

“This four day continuous strike is a challenge for us to provide cover. We will have cover in place with officers crewing a number of fire engines on a 24/7 basis, together with those of our on-call firefighters who are not joining the industrial action, but it will be fewer fire appliances available than previously.

“Although we will respond as quickly as we can, people should expect a delayed response when calling the fire service over the four days.”

For further information on the strike and further safety advice, log onto www.cambsfire.gov.uk.