The increasing “misuse” of fireworks has been described as “downright anarchy” – as the Government acknowledges lack of evidence about the effectiveness of current regulations.
On 9 December, MPs debated two petitions in parliament – one calling for a ban on the sale of fireworks to the public (with 50,288 signatures), the other proposing to limit the sale and use of fireworks to licence holders (signed by 79,213). The latter was started by Alan Smith, whose 88-year-old mother, Josephine...