AN animal keeper from Workington has called for more to be done to stop fireworks in the town - after one of her owls was injured earlier this week down to early Bonfire Night celebrations.

Siobhan Harkness, owner at Pet Encounter Cumbria, was left appalled on Tuesday evening when fireworks were being set off around her home in Workington.

A number of fireworks were let off near to her home - leading to one of her owls injuring its wing as it flew into its aviary, panicked by the bangs.

Siobhan said: "The noise was just unbelievable and we had not even a warning to get the animals in."

She described the pandemonium: "The meerkats went underground, I couldn't get them out - and the owls were flying about just hitting the avaries. I didn't know which one to go for first.

"It's getting ridiculous. I understand Bonfire Night but to me it should be on November 5; they shouldn't be the week before or two weeks before.

"I wish people would do it on November 5 - it's Christmas Day on Christmas, Halloween is on Halloween, why does Bonfire Night need to be a week or two before? It's for one day."

It is not the first time the animal owner has been affected by fireworks.

Last year, Siobhan lost a rabbit and an owl to fright when fireworks were set off much later on in the year.

She said: "Last year unfortunately we did lose some animals due to fireworks that went off end of November, start of December and caught us off guard - and the animals died of fright.

"We had a rabbit... a firework [was] set off and the rabbit just died straight away after a heart attack, and then a couple of weeks later more fireworks set off and we shot out to one of our owls - but when we got there it had died.

"It's not just the animals, it's also the local wildlife which could die of fright."

Siobhan posted a statement on social media to warn people about the dangers, and now thinks councils should do more to ban or amend restrictions on fireworks.

Of the response she said: "I was actually overwhelmed. I put it on as a bit of a rant just to make people aware; you are messing with people's lives.

"These animals aren't just our pets, they're our family. If anything happened to them it would be the same as anything happening to my kids.

"I would want the person who was responsible to be held to that."