BONFIRE night passed off without any major incidents, according to the region’s emergency services.

In the Northumbria Police Force area, officers attended a total of 222 bonfire and firework-related incidents between 4pm on Saturday and 1am yesterday. A total of five arrests were made.

Superintendent Gillian Mitchell said: "Bonfire Night passed without major incident and I'd like to thank the public for their support and co-operation.

"It seems most people have listened to advice and have attended organised displays, as well as reporting illegal bonfires, which has helped ensure a safe and enjoyable Bonfire Night for everyone."

blob In Newcastle police went to 28 bonfire-related incidents and ten firework-related incidents with one related arrest.

blob In Sunderland police attended 53 bonfire-related incidents and 12 firework-related incidents. There was one related arrest.

blob In Gateshead officers were called to 24 bonfire-related incidents and 20 firework-related incidents, while in South Tyneside there were 23 bonfire and firework-related incidents.

A number of fireworks were also seized by police in the run-up to the festivities. Four men, two aged 21, a 30-year-old and a 27-year-old were also arrested on suspicion of drugs offences after a quantity of tablets were discovered as part of the operation in South Shields.

Meanwhile, firefighters in County Durham were called to 125 incidents between 4pm and midnight on Saturday.

A spokeswoman for County Durham and Darlington Fire And Rescue service said: "In general terms it was busier, but for bonfire night it was actually one of the quieter ones we have had."

There were also no reports of fire crews being attacked, a concern in the build up to the weekend.

The spokeswoman said: "We had a problem in Crook last week, but thankfully there were no similar incidents on Saturday night.

"Hopefully, our campaign to raise awareness of the problem has worked and people have realised just how serious it is to attack our officers when they are working to save lives."

Firefighters in Darlington had a busy night dealing with a number of small fires, bonfires and youth nuisance, but again said it was less busy night than an average Bonfire Night.

Several large bonfires had to be put out by fire crews in Whitby, North Yorkshire, because they were dangerous.

They were called to Larpool Crescent at about 8pm, after being told fireworks were being thrown on to a bonfire. When the fire brigade arrived they didn’t find fireworks, but discovered it was very near to an electricity sub-station and put it out.

Later in the evening (9.30pm) they extinguished a large bonfire at a play area on Helredale (COR) Road.

Across North Yorkshire, fire crews received more than 30 bonfire-related call-outs throughout the night. Many related to reports of fires out of control in fields or on open land, which firefighters found were under control when they arrived.