Virtual bonfire night

Organisers of a Guy Fawkes night party in Devon claim health and safety officials have forced them to watch a film of a bonfire rather than the real thing.

The event, dubbed 'non fire night', at Ilfracombe Rugby Club will see about 2,000 revellers hold sparklers and gather around a big screen showing footage of a bonfire.

Recorded images of a roaring real fire will be projected onto the 16ft by 12ft screen mounted on a scaffolding stand - at a cost of £300.

Organisers say they were put off having a real fire by the 'mountain' of paperwork and regulations set by council chiefs, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Officials at the authority said that to have a real fire they would require five qualified fire marshals and metal barricades to keep people at a safe distance.

The non-fire night will also involve giant heaters, lighting and a smoke machine to give the crowd the taste of a real bonfire night.

Sounds of crackling wood will also be broadcast on loudspeakers and £2,500 fireworks will be fired into the air.

"Certain regulations make it difficult for us to have a real bonfire. It is not really a financially viable option," said club captain Leo Cooper, 25.

"The bonfire is often the focal point so we decided to have a big screen that would do the same job."

But local resident Amy Collins, 26, complained: "The whole point of Guy Fawkes night is to watch and smell a real bonfire. I doubt Guy Fawkes would have been able to blow up Parliament with virtual gunpowder."