SOUTHEND’S sky will be lit up this autumn as free fireworks return to the town.

The firework events will begin a seven-week run on Saturday, October 5, until November 16.

The half-hour displays are organised by the Southend Business Improvement District team and are aimed at boosting the economy by keeping people in the town centre on a Saturday evening, after they may normally have gone home.

They had previously been paid for by the town’s seafront traders’ association, but were passed on to Southend Business Improvement District team in 2012.

The displays will begin at 7.30pm every Saturday night, from October 5, and will last about half an hour.