Local MP Robbie Moore has led the calls for change on fireworks laws in an emotional debate on the petition in Parliament.
Speaking on the Petitions Committee, Mr Moore argued that fireworks have ’terrorised’ animals and neighbourhoods across the District and called for urgent changes in legislation, including a restriction of firework noise limits and restrictions to council-approved events only.
Raising a tragic local case in December, Mr Moore said:
“In Riddlesden in my own constituency, just before Christmas, fireworks led to the tragic death of a family’s foal known as King. Terrified of nearby fireworks, it is believed King bolted in the night. He was found by local farmer Hannah the next morning impaled onto a piece of farm machinery. It was just awful, like something out of a horror film,” Hannah said. Let that be a message to anyone who still says fireworks are merely a matter of harmless fun.”
The local MP, who was asked to lead the debate by the Petitions Committee, has met with the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Anxiety UK, Veterans organisation Help for Heroes, and representatives from The Firework Campaign to prepare for the debate.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Moore outlined the broader impacts of fireworks, including noise distress for veterans with PTSD, sensory distress for individuals with processing disorders, and the terror faced by animals:
“Enough is enough. Public support for national change on fireworks is overwhelming. They disturb the peace of entire neighbourhoods, terrify pets, and leave vulnerable people trapped in their own homes throughout the year. If we choose to continue to ignore this issue then I fear it is inevitable there will be more unnecessary deaths, injuries and traumas for the victims of fireworks in the future… The government has the power to end this nightmare. And they should do so without delay.”
The MP also pointed to alarming reports of firework misuse across the Bradford district, with stockpiling and illegal sales becoming increasingly common:
“In my constituency, we get this far too often – in places like Riddlesden, Braithwaite, Bracken Bank, Oakworth, Haworth, Ingrow and Silsden. In a distressing number of cases, emergency services in Keighley have come under attack by criminals using fireworks as weapons. Yet unlike the illegal use of knives fireworks seem to get a free pass”
The local MP also called on the government to deliver a full policy review and provide resources for police and councils to enforce existing laws effectively:
“The biggest problem with fireworks crimes is enforcement. Until a firework is lit illegally, no crime has been committed. And by the time the police spot and respond to a firework in the sky those responsible will have had plenty of time to flee the scene or dispose of what little evidence there is to begin with. Simply put, it is incredibly difficult to enforce laws that regulate firework use, and therefore it is quite right that today’s petitions, and wider reform, focus on supply side regulations.”
