CANDLES, fairy lights and decorations can all present a fire risk and Wiltshire Fire Brigade have urged people to be extra careful over the holiday period.

Fire safety officer, Mark Altree, said Swindon has had a good record in recent years for seasonal fire safety.

He said: "Thankfully people in Swindon tend to be pretty safe people, the problems we've had so far have not been in this county. There was a fire involving Christmas lights and cotton wool snow which illustrates the sort of problems we can see."

Mr Altree said Christmas trees themselves can present one of the biggest dangers once alight they can be engulfed in flame in just 30 seconds. He warned people to kept their tree away from open fires and heaters.

He also issued a series of other useful dos and don'ts:

Have your chimney swept before lighting the first fire of the season and use a spark guard.

Take extra care when people are smoking and drinking and make sure the contents of any ashtray is cold before emptying it.

Don't put wrapping paper on an open fire because it can flare up dangerously.

Don't leave Christmas lights unattended for long periods.

Trading standards officers at Swindon Borough Council have underlined the fire safety message with a warning about candles.

With colleagues across the South West they have surveyed 82 widely sold candles. They found that many of them burned with an over large flame or smoked excessively and one spat molten wax.

Swindon trading standards spokesman, Robert Naylor, said that many floral candle decorations were clearly flammable.

Tea lights, or night lights as they are sometimes called, are a particular hazard. Their metal bases can get as warm as 344 degrees Celsius hot enough to melt plastic.

He said: "Every year we get complaints about candles that burn erratically, sometimes endangering life and property. Unfortunately, it's not often possible to replicate these accidents to prove that the candle is unsafe which means we can't take legal action against the supplier."