Keighley MP Robbie Moore has slammed fireworks misuse in the town after continuous reports of disruption have been made.
Residents in the Parkwood, Riddlesden ans across Keighley say fireworks are being let off in the early hours of the morning, distressing pets and keeping young children awake, with complaints that school, work and home life is continually being impacted.
Attributing the rise in reports to the Asian summer wedding season, Mr Moore called the behaviour “mindless, disrespectful and unfair to the community” and has vowed to continue his campaign for stricter regulations on the sale and use of fireworks during the new session of Parliament in September.
The MP wants Parliament to introduce much tougher licensing requirements which would see fireworks prohibited outside of public events, with Mr Moore saying that tackling the problem is an issue of “fairness and respect for local residents”.
Mr Moore also says he wants to see the proper enforcement of existing fireworks laws. Under current laws, the use of fireworks from 11pm to 7am is a criminal offence and you can be fined an unlimited amount and imprisoned for up to 6 months for selling or using fireworks illegally, with specific exceptions applying only during the traditional firework periods of November 5, Diwali, New Year’s Eve and the Chinese New Year.
Robbie Moore MP commented:
“It is incredibly frustrasting to see that fireworks are once again being set off in the early hours of the morning by members of our community, causing disruption to fellow residents and their families. It simply isn’t fair or neighbourly to be setting off fireworks all throughout the night or in the early hours of the morning, even if it is for a celebratory event. To me, this is all about fairness and respect, and this mindless behaviour is both disrespectful and unfair to our community as a whole.
This is exactly why I will be continuing my campaign calling on Parliament to implement much tougher licensing provisions on both the sale and use of fireworks, as well as tougher enforcement action to clamp down on those who misuse fireworks. It is high time we restricted the use of fireworks to public events only.”
