A firework veered off-course straight into the crowd - and exploded at a terrified woman's feet.

Alarm can be seen spreading among revellers in Harrow, London, where a crowd of 20 and 30 had gathered to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

An eyewitness, who shot the footage around 10pm last Monday (20), said it was "scary" to see the gathering's "lax" safety controls while children watched on."

No one was seriously hurt amid the chaos - but it comes as fire chiefs warn about the dangers of fireworks.

The witness said: "My girlfriend and I were saying 'something could easily go wrong' and it almost did."

"A minute or two after, we heard a wooden clunk like a stand had fallen and a couple of fireworks."

"One exploded probably two or three metres off the ground and another one shot straight across the ground and exploded right by a woman."

"She was fine but it would have been pretty scary if I was there."

He said the crowd "panicked" and added: "She tried to run away from it and then people backed off a bit and went to see if she was alright."

"There were kids about as well, so I think people were worried about them."

He explained fireworks had been "going off all week", having initially started as "smaller, family-type events" but later got out of control."

"I couldn't believe that had actually just happened", he added"

"It's something you just see online. They could easily have become statistics."

It is understood neither police nor firefighters were called to the scene.

The London Fire Brigade warned of a "serious risk to life" earlier this week after being called to two firework-related blazes in the capital."

A semi-detached house in Hayes caught fire last Tuesday (21) while another blaze at a row of terraced shops and flats in Southhall had to be extinguished in the early hours of Wednesday (22).

The brigade said: "Fireworks are explosives and should be used, stored and disposed of safely."

"They pose a serious risk to life if used incorrectly."

"At minimum, fireworks can cause burns, fires, damage to wildlife and property."

"In the most serious cases, misuse can lead to life-threatening injuries."

"Our key advice for anyone wanting to celebrate with fireworks is not to purchase them for use at home."

"Instead, attend an organised display."

"They are safer, cheaper and more impressive."