A TELEPHONE kiosk in West Cornforth was destroyed by vandals who set off a firework in it.

Several people called the emergency services after an explosion in the village at 10.30pm on Monday.

The noise was so loud that some villagers reported hearing a bomb explode.

The source of the noise turned out to be a firework exploding in a telephone kiosk in Stobb Cross Road. Debris and glass was scattered over an area of 40 feet.

A small fire started, but had burned itself out before fire crews arrived.

Police crime scene investigators closed the road and took samples, swabs and what is believed to be the remains of a firework.

Npower made the area safe because several wires had become exposed in the blast.

A police spokesman said: "Fireworks are a problem not just around Bonfire Night, but for weeks before and afterwards.

"We had several calls from members of the public. Fortunately nobody was hurt."

A spokesman for BT said the telephone would be replaced.

He said: "Vandalism of this nature is extremely dangerous and expensive. It'll cost several thousand pounds to replace and deprive people of a kiosk."