From Connla Young in today’s Irish News:
Hundreds of mattresses have been brought to the site of a controversial Eleventh Night bonfire in Co Antrim.
It is understood the mattresses, which when set alight can give off toxic fumes and smoke, were delivered to the Craigyhill area of Larne in recent days.
In previous years, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of the bonfire, which is near where 36-year-old John Steele fell to his death while helping to build a bonfire in the Antiville area in 2022.
Posts on social media suggests that up to 1,600 mattresses and a trailer load of pallets have already been delivered to the site around three months before Eleventh Night celebrations.
Pictures of mattresses being unloaded from a lorry trailer have been posted on a Facebook page and are accompanied by the words “another 40 footer full of mattresses…booooom”.
Another post shows dozens of mattresses being taken from a large van along with the message “when you have 600 mattresses arrive at your bonfire site…and still another 1,000 or more still to come”.Another post this month shows a picture of a lorry with its signage and registration obscured along with the message: “Things you like to see…pallets getting delivered (free ones).”
Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly urged bonfire builders to rethink their actions.“Having hundreds of mattresses in a bonfire clearly shows the organisers have no concern for the well-being of others,” he said. “I urge them to remove these mattresses before it is too late.
“Burning items such as mattresses can release dangerous chemicals and toxic smoke into the atmosphere. Local residents will be the ones who will suffer of this if these mattresses are lit as part of this bonfire.”
Hundreds of mattresses brought to controversial bonfire site https://t.co/7VfyO9byuP
— Connla Young (@ConnlaYoung) April 18, 2024
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