BAN THE SALE OF FIREWORKS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC?

Accident and Injury: The general sale of fireworks causes considerable nuisance and distress to both people and animals every year. Once on sale, they are being set off at all times of day and night for weeks on end either side of November 5th. Every year domestic displays give rise to a considerable number of accidents and are a considerable drain on emergency services. They also result in a number of very serious injuries as well as an abundance of minor ones.

No Competition! Domestic displays can never compete with the spectacular nature of a proper professionally organised display. From a visual entertainment point of view there is no competition between a firework that costs a few pounds in your average back garden display, and one that costs several hundred pounds, as typical of a proper organised display.

Beneficial & Socially Acceptable? Organised displays take place at a more sociably acceptable hour on the appropriate days closest to 5th November and therefore do not result in a widespread nuisance. For these reasons many people feel that it would be beneficial to ban the general sale of fireworks to the public altogether and limit firework displays to the proper officially organised events.

ADVANTAGES OF ORGANISED DISPLAYS

• Nil injuries to people (usually)
  (Over a thousand people suffer minor or serious injuries every year from back garden displays and similar)
   
• Nil problems to emergency services
  (Emergency services are normally stretched to the limit due to accidents and disasters)
   
• Much more spectacular fireworks and special effects
  (A back garden firework may cost a few pounds, a professional display firework several hundred pounds)
   
• Noise and nuisance levels are kept to an absolute minimum area
  (Organised displays are limited to single locations and are not widespread across the borough)
   
• Noise and nuisance levels are kept to an absolute minimum time
  (Displays are orchestrated and only last for 15 to 30 minutes on the key nights on or around November 5th)
   
• No bangs and explosions in the middle of the night or in the early hours of the morning
  (Apart from New Year, organised displays generally take place at a sensible time and are finished by 9pm)
   

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