this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Firefighters called to an apparent blaze at Blackpool Tower said it was actually orange netting that was seen.

Witnesses spotted "flames" coming from a metal section near the top of the famous landmark at about 14:15 GMT.

Staff were evacuated from the building but LFRS said a specialist team gained access to the area and confirmed there was no fire.

A statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, read: "Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service were called to Promenade, Blackpool today by concerned members of the public, due to a combination of factors that led them to believe it was a fire.

"This incident was supported by the National Police Air Service, who used thermal imaging which provided further assurance."

Inspired by a trip to Paris in 1889, former Blackpool mayor Sir John Bickerstaffe had the idea of building a Lancashire version of the Eiffel Tower.


The original article contains 231 words, the summary contains 144 words. Saved 38%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They dedicated like 10 mins to discussing it on Radio 4's PM tonight. I think this might be what they call a 'slow news day'.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Today's news:

  • There wasn't a fire in Blackpool
  • ...Oh, and thousands die in Ukraine and Gaza yet again.
[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

This is probably the reason this safety netting has standardised on blue.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

The BBC followed this up with an article about similar stories, including the two different "soft toy mistaken for an escaped tiger" ones.

It does also remind me of the (in)famous "false leg mistaken for paedophile" incident.