Fireworks thrown at fire crews responding to incidents

Fireworks were deliberately directed at fire crews during six separate incidents on Halloween night as they responded to dozens of callouts across Northern Ireland.

The fire service responded to 89 incidents, several of which were Halloween-related with 23 of them involving bonfires, between 18:00 GMT on Saturday and 01:00 on Sunday.

"No damage or injuries resulted and operational response for local communities was maintained throughout," a Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) spokesperson said.

Halloween celebrations took place across Northern Ireland over the weekend, with the biggest festival being held in Londonderry on Saturday evening.

The fireworks were directed at fire crews across Kilkeel, Drumquin and Enniskillen.

"We cannot emphasise enough how dangerous fireworks are, as they can result in life changing injuries if used inappropriately," the spokesperson continued.

"We acknowledge these incidents were isolated to a small minority of individuals, but this antisocial behaviour could have had devastating consequences."

In the Republic of Ireland, Dublin Fire Brigade reported the highest number of Halloween calls in more than a decade.

Chief Fire Officer Greg O'Dwyer said that, as of midnight, Dublin Fire Brigade had received 558 calls, an increase from 320 calls last year.

O'Dwyer also reported 483 Dublin ambulance calls and 338 East Region fire calls.

"A very busy night in the ERCC tonight... a total of over 1,350 calls processed already," he told Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

O'Dwyer described the conditions as a "perfect storm", pointing to the combination of dry weather and Halloween falling on a Saturday.

An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) reported no disturbances of serious concern.