BONFIRE night sees thousands of people within our community enjoying firework displays.

While this is fun and exciting, it’s important to remember fireworks are extremely dangerous and I’d like to reach out to all members of our community with some top tips to stay safe tonight.

Research from public safety planning experts found just one in three bonfire night hosts prioritise safety with more people putting the food and drink supply over the safety of their guests.

Among those aged between 18 to 34 years, only 16 per cent rate safety as a priority.

Fire and rescue services throughout the UK are called to attend 50 per cent more fire emergencies on Guy Fawkes Day than on any other night of the year.

And every year more than 1,000 people visit emergency departments with a firework-related injury.

More than half take place at private events that fail to follow the basic fire safety code.

The types of fireworks that cause the most injuries are firecrackers, sparklers and bottle rockets.

The most frequently-injured body parts are the hands, head, neck and eyes.

Children aged between five and nine are more than twice as likely as people in other age groups to be injured by fireworks.

Boys are twice as likely to suffer firework-related injuries than girls.

I would urge all members of our community not to buy fireworks to use at home.

Injury figures support the advice that the safest place to enjoy fireworks is at a large public display observing from a minimum safety distance of 25 metres.

Only buy fireworks that carry the CE marking or the UKCA mark and never allow children to play with fireworks, including sparklers.

Some people treat sparklers far too casually.

Even though some parents consider sparklers to be safe, they burn at temperatures between 1000°C to 1600°C which is hot enough to melt some metals.

The sparks can cause burns and eye injuries and touching a lit sparkler can result in a serious burn.

An estimated 1,100 emergency department-treated injuries were associated with sparklers in 2021.

Firework-related injuries often happen when a parent or adult is present so supervision alone is not enough to prevent serious injuries.

And one in four firework-related injuries to children occur to bystanders.

So even if you do not allow your children to touch fireworks they can still be seriously injured if around others using them.

Burns can be classified into three severities based on the depth of injury to the skin.

First-degree burns are superficial and involve only the top layer.

Second-degree burns are partial thickness burns affecting the top two layers of skin.

These burns form blisters, are very painful, may seep fluid and turn white when pressed.

Third-degree burns are full-thickness burns that extend through all layers of the skin, completely destroying it.

They cannot heal without surgical treatment such as skin grafts. If a burn does occur then cool it with cool water but not cold water to stop the burning process.

Avoid placing ice directly on the skin as this can damage the skin further and don’t soak the burn for longer than 15 minutes.

Remove all clothing and jewellery from the injured area, cover it with a clean dry sheet or loose bandage and seek medical attention immediately.

Every year in the UK around 300 people suffer serious eye injuries due to fireworks and 10 of them will lose their sight.

Fireworks can cause permanent eye damage by rupturing the eyeball or causing chemical or thermal burns, corneal abrasions and retinal detachment.

In the event of an eye injury seek medical attention immediately.

Do not rub or rinse the injured eye or apply ointments to the eye injury which could increase the damage and make it more difficult for a specialist to provide treatment.

Let’s all enjoy a safe Guy Fawkes night.

Our columnist Dr Jason Seewoodhary is a former Worcester GP.