Fire crew called to Stanley Park after barbecue sets bin on fire

Fire crews attending the bin fire at Stanley Park in Blackpool on Saturday evening

Jayden Creighton, eight, of Penrose Avenue, spotted thick smoke and flames, which threatened to spread to nearby trees after a bin had caught alight.

The Baines Endowed Primary School pupil had been enjoying his nightly walk with his mum Renay through the park when he caught sight of the blaze close to the bandstand.

Community support worker Renay made an emergency 999 call and firefighters sent a fast response team to put out the fire. The incident happened at around 8.20pm on Saturday evening.

The burnt out bin at Stanley Park in Blackpool

A spokesperson for Lancashire Fire and Rescue confirmed the fire had been caused by embers of a disposable barbecue, which had been put in the bin.

Football mad Jayden, who has been visiting the park every evening through lockdown said: "I saw the smoke and then the flames on the ground, where the grass had caught fire.

"I called to my mum and they were getting bigger and with the wind, I thought the trees would set on fire. It was quite scary but the fire brigade were very fast and they were able to put it out in three or four minutes."

Mum-of-two Renay, 42, said initially there looked to be just be smoke coming out of the bin but the flames took hold and were quite high when the crew arrived.

Jayden Creighton, 8, with firefighters after making an emergency call about the fire in Stanley Park.

She added: "We've been going a little later to the park for our exercise given the situation and that was the worry really as there were very few people about and with the location of the bin and how close it was to the trees they could have very easily caught fire.

"The firefighters told us it was a disposable barbecue that had not been put out properly and there was an aerosol in the bin too. It's not our usual walk through either. We did the right thing and Jayden is really proud of himself for having spotted it and calling out to let me know."

A spokesperson for Lancashire Fire and Rescue said: "We mobilised a vehicle to Stanley Park at around 8.20pm Saturday evening in response to a call from the member of public about a bin on fire.

"Those who had disposed the barbecue had clearly had the best of intentions in putting it in the bin, however we would remind the public embers can burn for up to 24 hours and it is very easy to catch alight.

"Disposable barbecues are a cause of many accidental fires, while we would advise against people using them in open spaces particularly in the dry weather - it's also important to remember to put them out properly. Carry a two litre bottle of water to safely put them out and do not put them directly in bins but leave on a hard standing surface."