CONGRATULATIONS both for your front page story (LET, October 22) highlighting the problem of fireworks yobs and for your Opinion column on this annual inconvenience to the long suffering public.

I am sick and tired of going through the yearly charade of media appeals from the fire and ambulance services, hospitals, police, schools and parents. Young children are maimed and disfigured for life, the elderly afraid to leave their homes and people afraid to walk their dogs.

I live in an area adjacent to a large council estate, an area of smallholdings, with animals such as sheep, goats, horses and poultry, all of which suffer nervous tension at this time of the year.

I find it upsetting that children from an area where they can least afford to see their money go up in smoke, is seriously affected by this nuisance.

It starts at about 4pm and lasts until at least midnight. It must be horrific to live in the centre of this estate and I know that the majority of the residents are law-abiding people. My sympathy lies with them.

Fireworks give a lot of pleasure to many children and grown-ups but is it not time that the government grasped this seasonal nettle by introducing meaningful and simple legislation. A recent survey found that 91 per cent of people interviewed said that there should be a total ban on the sale of fireworks with the exception of organised fireworks displays.

BILL GOLDSMITH JP, Garsden Avenue, Knuzden.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.