STATISTICS show that fireworks do cause accidents and can be a nuisance to the public. In the Eastern division alone police officers were called out to 32 incidents in the weekend running up to Bonfire Night.

Across East Lancashire in the same period, ambulance crews were called out to half a dozen incidents, which is a massive drain on resources - especially if one of those crews has to ferry an injured child to an out-of-town hospital such as Manchester.

Chief Superintendent John Thompson, the divisional commander for Eastern Division, said it was time to stop the public being allowed to buy fireworks, an argument backed by Tony Dixon, assistant director of operations for Accident and Emergency with Lancashire Ambulance Service.

Mr Thompson said: "There is no logic in selling explosives over the counter at a corner shop. I am very supportive of the tradition and very supportive of organised firework displays, but there is no sense in selling what amounts to explosives to anybody as they want them.

"I am not calling for a total ban, but a review of the legislation of selling fireworks which is inadequate and out of date.

"Fireworks are dangerous in the wrong hands and can cause serious injuries or perhaps even fatalities. There are no regulations when selling fireworks apart from age. There should be tighter legislation."

Tony Dixon added: "There doesn't seem to be that much control over the sale and use of fireworks.

"In the weekend leading up to Bonfire Night we dealt with six incidents which, fortunately, were not serious. It is something that our crews could do without."

Some MPs backed the calls. Burnley's Peter Pike said he would support any ban while Pendle's Gordon Prentice said he was on the receiving end of the problem only last week.

He said: "I was woken up at 2.30am by a loud explosion from a firework outside my house in Barnoldswick. We certainly need to look into this issue."

Coun Fred Slater, deputy Conservative leader for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "I think there are real issues here. I don't want to spoil people's fun but they are dangerous.

"They should only be used by people who know what they are doing."

Councillor Maureen Bateson, executive member for rights and entitlements for Blackburn with Darwen Council, added that officers check to make sure fireworks are being sold correctly and not sold to people who are under-age.

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