LIFEBOAT crews have appealed for people not to use emergency flares as fireworks.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said too many lives were put at risk every time lifeboat and helicopter crews were called out to what they thought were emergencies at sea.

While there was a significant drop in this type of false callout last year, there have been 180 incidents nationally in the past five years, caused by revellers misusing distress flares.

Last year, there were 25 false alarms, although the figure was down from 35 in 2003.

However, the North has had the lowest number of false alarms in England and Scotland in the past five years.

There have been 20 false callouts in the region during October and November since 2000, compared with 40 in the east, 40 in Scotland, 33 in the south, 27 in Ireland, and 20 in the west.

RNLI spokesman Hugh Fogarty said: "Despite the low number of false alarms caused by flares in the North-East when compared with the rest of the country, the RNLI cannot emphasise strongly enough that every flare that is fired for the wrong reasons puts lives at risk.

"Our volunteers, along with other search and rescue crews, are always ready to answer the call, but it is frustrating for them to search through the night because a flare has been fired for the wrong reasons.

"Not only are they called away from their own family parties, they are also risking their lives needlessly."

The MCA's head of search and rescue, Peter Dymond, said: "'Often people are tempted to use up their out-of-date flares on Bonfire Night, but this causes real problems for the rescue services.

"We would urge sailors to dispose of flares safely and responsibly by contacting their nearest coastguard station."