Flashing Christmas lights can trigger epileptic fits, the Caritas Malta Epilepsy Association (CMEA) has warned.

The association called on local councils, establishments and the public to be sensitive to the effects that flickering fairy lights might have on people suffering from photosensitive epilepsy.

Most people with photosensitive epilepsy are sensitive to lights that flash 16-25 times per second (16-25 Hz), although some people may be sensitive to rates as low as three flashes per second and as high as 60, according to the CMEA.

"While some people are aware of the possibility of inducing photosensitive epilepsy through flash photography, certain computer games and television programmes, few realise that flashing Christmas lights in public places, too, can cause photosensitive epilepsy," the association said, calling the threat posed by such lights as a "health and safety issue."