Councillors in Keighley and Ilkley will be asked to support a ban on the most powerful fireworks from being sold to members of the public.
A motion that will be voted on at the next meeting of Bradford Council will say “enough is enough” and call for changes to be made to laws around firework sales.
The issue of anti-social firework use is one that often rears its head, particularly in the period between Summer – wedding season, and Bonfire night.
At a meeting of the Council next Tuesday, the Labour group will put forward a motion calling for Government to ban of the sale of Category 3 fireworks to members of the public, and for a restriction of the sale of the noisiest fireworks.
Category 3 fireworks are the most powerful type of firework that can be sold in shops or supermarkets, and requires spectators to be at least 25 metres away from the fireworks when launched.
The issue of anti-social firework use was recently raised at a meeting of the Council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee, where members were told existing laws around firework use were difficult to enforce.
Members were also told that there was a growing problem of people buying fireworks through illicit channels, such as snapchat or from “the back of a transit” rather than regulated shops.
Inspector Nick Haigh of West Yorkshire Police told members that modern firework packages meant someone could light one fuse to set of fireworks that would last for five minutes.
This meant that by the time police arrived at the scene of a reported firework incident, the culprits could be well gone.
The motion going before Councillors next week refers to a call to government made by Keighley MP Robbie Moore in 2021.
In response to the Conservative MP’s calls for tougher rules on fireworks, Jacob Rees Mogg, then leader of the Commons, said he was “unsympathetic” to Mr Moore’s calls, adding: “they are a little bit of harmless fun.”
The Council motion says: “Councillors and residents across the district are angry and dismayed at the antisocial use of fireworks, which continue to cause distress to people and pets at all hours of day and night.
“Enough is enough. We need action to be taken on a national level.
“There are brilliant low-noise fireworks that give spectacular displays which are available for people to buy and enjoy without causing harm to their neighbours. The use of these and small fireworks would be unaffected by the introduction of tougher rules.”
Councillor Abdul Jabar (Lab), portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and community safety, has put forward the motion, and said: “People are sick and tired of these powerful fireworks being set off at all hours of day and night. As councillors we are standing alongside our residents in saying enough is enough.
“We want government to bring in tougher laws nationally and to ban the sale of these powerful fireworks. This is nothing to do with smaller fireworks, which give families a lot of fun without causing any harm to neighbours. This is about tackling the unacceptable, powerful types of firework which are a menace and cause unacceptable harm and misery to people’s daily lives.”
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