PEOPLE are being urged to make use of a 24-hour telephone hotline to report firework nuisances in the run-up to November 5.

Calls to the number - (0800) 3897223 - should be about illegal bonfires, fireworks nuisance or people selling fireworks illegally. It is not for emergencies.

The freephone came into operation this week and will be available until January 14. It is one of a number of initiatives being taken by Redcar and Cleveland Community Safety Partnership.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's trading standards department will make test purchases and carry out additional inspections of licensed premises - supported, where necessary, by Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Brigade.

The council and its partners are liaising closely with the Home Office and the Department of Trade and Industry over the initiatives it is taking. Coun Dave McLuckie, the council's lead member for community safety, said: "The partnership's strategy is all about education and encouraging people to enjoy this time of year.

"We want to promote the safety message to all ages, young and old.

"But underlying everything we are saying is the fact that anyone who misbehaves stands a very good chance of being prosecuted for their misdeeds."