Should've checked the pressure: Bonfire stack piled 40ft high with tyres collapses just days before 'Eleventh Night' celebrations in Northern Ireland



Was due to be lit night before July 12 in Protestant commemoration of Battle of Boyne in 1690

Stack of more than 25 layers tumbled down under its own weight

Built perilously close to houses on Ballycraigy estate in Antrim




Build it, and they will come, goes the saying... but not if it comes crashing to the ground first.



This was the scene on an estate in Northern Ireland after a 40ft stack of tyres, due to be set alight as part of an annual loyalist celebration, collapsed today.

The bonfire had been prepared for the Eleventh Night, a reference to the night before July 12 - a Protestant commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

High hopes...

This bonfire had been prepared for the Eleventh Night, a reference to the night before July 12 - a Protestant commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690

... but what a let-down



The 40ft-high stack, built on the Ballycraigy estate in Antrim, Northern Ireland, collapsed today

And while some residents in Ballycraigy, Antrim, might have welcomed the bonfire, others would have been more wary - as the tower was built perilously close to homes.



The structure, comprising more than 25 layers of tyres and pallets, came tumbling to the ground under its own weight, according to website UTV.

Sometimes stacked by their thousands, the tyres in such bonfires around the region cast a plume of fire - and thick, toxic smoke caused by the burning plastic - high into the night sky.

It is illegal to burn the tyres, which emit toxic fumes - and b onfire committee workers had previously removed stacks in the area on safety grounds.

While some residents might have welcomed the bonfire, others would have been more wary - as the tower was built perilously close to homes

The structure, comprising more than 25 layers of tyres and pallets, tumbled to the ground under its own weight

It is illegal to burn the tyres, which emit toxic fumes - and bonfire committee workers had previously removed stacks in the area on safety grounds

The Ballycraigy pyre came crashing down just days before it was due to be lit

Their concerns are echoed by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), which advises those building and attending the bonfires to consider the risks.

'If we are called out to attend a bonfire-related incident, I am asking the community for their support to ensure that firefighters are able to carry out their job without fear of attack or harassment,' Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dale Ashford said.



Last year, there was a significant drop in the number of bonfire-related incidents - down from 49 call-outs between 6pm on July 11 and 8am on July 12 in 2011, to 29 during the same period in 2012.