THOUSANDS of Worcestershire revellers may see their bonfire night celebrations shelved to work round the threatened firefighters' strikes.

Worcester and Malvern Round Tables have confirmed their joint Pitchcroft bonfire party, scheduled for Saturday, November 2, may be rescheduled for safety reasons.

"We've had a letter from the council, which states we might have to cancel the Saturday event if the strike goes ahead, because we haven't enough temporary fire cover," said Nick Close, chairman of the Worcester Round Table.

"We've put in months of planning for the event so we hope it will not be cancelled."

Alan Stuttard, head of Worcester City Council's cultural services, said bonfire displays could go ahead, but alternative dates may have to be found.

"No one loves bonfire or fireworks displays more than me, but we've got to take public safety into consideration," said Mr Stuttard.

"I can assure people bonfire displays will go on when there is not a strike and we will try to fix further dates.

"I've even suggested to the Round Table that we might try for November 5 - the traditional date for bonfire nights."

Mr Stuttard confirmed Worcester City has two Green Goddesses on standby if any full-time firefighters' strike takes place.

But public safety could be compromised in other parts of the city if these two engines were used to monitor firework events.

A series of six strikes has been planned by Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade if a compromise is not reached.

Dates affected next month include Saturday, November 2 to Monday, November 4, Wednesday, November 6 to Thursday, November 14 and Friday, November 22 to Saturday, November 30. Each one will run from 9am to 9am.