FOUR people escaped from a blazing car this week after a firework blasted through the windscreen, setting the car alight.

The firework was thrown onto the front screen of the blue VW Golf and the passengers, including two pregnant women, scrambled to get out of the vehicle as the flames spread.

The car, which was travelling along Blackburn Road, Accrington, had been slowing down at the traffic lights at the junction of Oxford Street, when the incident happened just after 10pm on Wednesday.

Three youths ran into the road and one of them threw the firework on to the bottom nearside of the windscreen. It went blasted through the glass and through the glovebox setting the car on fire.

The passengers, two women and two men, were taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary but were discharged with no injuries.

Crew manager at Hyndburn Community Fire Station, George Mullaney, said that somebody could have been killed.

He added: "It just highlights the dangers of fireworks in general and the absolute reckless misuse of fireworks. This was not children playing with fireworks, it is far more serious. The fact that nobody was hurt is a minor miracle, we could have ended up with a fatality. It is a serious thing to be doing to people."

The car, which was severely fire damaged in the incident, has been taken away by police for forensic analysis, and officers will be examining the firework.

Sergeant Mark Porter, of Accrington Police said: "It has been a very serious offence with the potential for causing far more injury and damage than it has done.

"We do have an ongoing operation in place at the moment dealing with the issue of fireworks and led by the community beat officers, where we are educating young people and any offences such as this will be investigated thoroughly."

The offenders are all white males aged between 16 and 17. The one who dropped the firework has been described as 5ft 10ins tall, well built with dark hair and wearing a blue jacket with white writing on the back and jeans.

His accomplices were both described as 5ft 8ins tall with dark hair, one is of medium build and was wearing a white shirt with light blue vertical stripes and jeans, and the other was wearing a cream jumper with horizontal black stripes.

Anyone with information should contact Sergeant Mark Porter on 51212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.