The University Hospital of Elche is to take on extra staff next weekend for the two popular celebrations la Nit de l’Albà on 13/14 August and la Nit de la Roà on 14/15th.

A hospital spokesman said the additional staff, which will comprise of a plastic surgeon, two doctors and two nursing teams, who will be engaged purely as a preventative measure to supplement the A&E department and the burns unit as Elche celebrates almost 70,000 fireworks and rockets as the night sky is set ablaze with light and colour and sound.

In recent years the two nights have seen the number of burns patients treated by the hospital quadruple as many people still fail to handle the fireworks properly.

The adjacent medical centre at Toscar will also be on standby for the Nit de l’Alba with three doctors and two nurses operating around the clock from the 13th to the 16th with an additional doctor and nurse being drafted if required.