Fire chiefs have refused to support the Church of England's Millennium candle promotion - and have warned people to take great care on New Year's Eve.

Tom Carroll, Oxfordshire's Chief Fire Officer, has grave reservations about the celebrations, and stressed that taking candles to some public buildings could breach licence regulations.

But the Church, which wants to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus by issuing a candle to every household in the country, is adamant people should still embrace their idea of lighting the candles at midnight on New Year's Eve.

It has also suggested people take the candle with them to functions or celebrations they are attending. Steve Harrison, fire safety officer, said the fire service didn't want to spoil people's celebrations, but they had to bear in mind the dangers.

"The most important is never to leave candles unattended. The horror we have is of people lighting these candles, then having something to drink, going to bed and leaving the candle. We are talking about a naked flame and, with Christmas decorations and other things around, there is a potential for tragedy." A candle was blamed for a fire which killed Viv Slade and his stepson David Pettifer at their home in Springfield Road, Wantage, in January.

However, the Diocese of Oxford accused fire chiefs of being overly cautious. The Rev Richard Thomas said: "We don't share the fire service's extreme caution on this."

Story date: Friday 10 December

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