Fireworks should be legally restricted to organisers of official displays only, so that they can be managed by qualified and experienced persons. Also this way, displays will only be held on special days, instead of every day and night from October to January!

I think if you ban over the counter sales of fireworks, this will create a massive problem, If fireworks are ban from being sold to the public you will push the fireworks industry into the Black Market and how then are you suppose to monitor the safety and quality of fireworks if you have pushed it into the black market. To be honest i think this is a job for the police to tighten up on the missuse of fireworks and stop blaming the firework importers and manufacturers. The HSE would be in full agreement to this as they are the body along with the DTI trying to control it. I think it would be a big mistake trying to ban the sale of fireworks over the counter. You just have to look at the Republic of Ireland to see how many fireworks end up on the black market there. If you want to control it then introduce tigher legislation.

Of course fireworks should not be banned.

The age limit should just be raised to 21 so young people have even less access to them. Also, penalties should be increased for shopkeepers etc. who sell them to people who are underage.

The vast majority of us cannot afford to have a professional display fired for us and do not want to have to travel miles and be treated like cattle at a staged event.

Therefore buying our own (we club together with our neighbours to get a fair sized display) is the only option. And it's only once a year after all!

The more things we ban in this society the more trouble we will have. Look at places like spain where fireworks are normal place with children and adults and they get on with things ok.. lets not support this nanny state! If fireworks should be banned, then so should smoking, owning pets that foul and make noise, rock concerts, theme parks, pubs, bars, clubs, bingo, driving (in fact anything that offends anybody or could be dangerous).. lets make the country like one giant library!! "QUIET AT THE BACK PLEASE"

And yet even more laws on fireworks that will never be enforced "Who will enforce it after 11pm" .Its just another useless law that will not stop kids getting hurt ,Every year we hear the same old story .Why can we not stop this sale of artillery shells and munitions we call fireworks,We now live in a world where we cannot condone any more kids dying or being maimed by fireworks missuse . THE ANSWER IS SO EASY BAN THEM..Is the answer so difficult that white collar workers in the townhall cannot understand the QUESTION? Stop kids getting hurt ..BAN FIREWORKS FOR SALE TO THE PUBLIC. there you go even young schoolchildren can understand that??.........

I've lived and worked in several parts of the Liverpool / Manchester region, including some of the rougher parts. I've seen enough petrol bombs to last a lifetime - so I'd ban bottles and petrol! I've seen drivers pelted with stones and old ladies in a Churchyard shot at with air rifles. One of my Churches had nearly every window smashed and two attempts to burn it down - none of the damage caused by fireworks. So I'd ban air guns, sticks, stones, matches and cigarette lighters too...... My exeperiences suggest that idiots that want to cause a nuisance and do damage will use anything they can get their hands on. So I don't support an outright ban on retail firework sales because I don't think it will solve the underlying problem - it will only move it on to something else. But some degree of control could be beneficial. As a Vicar I get to see the gardens of many houses - and not many of them are big enough for the larger display fireworks sold in many local shops and supermarkets. How about limiting sales to items that are suitable for the area they'll be used in?

I use fireworks twice a year, always organised, always inform neighbours, always leaflet those a bit further away just to make sure they keep their pets in over the 10 mins while I display. Most neighbours turn up for a good get together, all fireworks over by 8pm. Where is the harm here? Banning over the counter sales would preclude me and my neighbours from enjoying such an event - not rouble, no complaints, no need to ban.

What a load of nonsense! Another case of the state trying to spoil our fun. The real problem is the louts who misuse fireworks. The police need more power to deal with youths who clearly get the better of the law. Solve the root of the problem, don't take the easy way out and attack the resulting issues.

Maybe motorcycling should become a spectator sport only. It is, after all, much more dangerous.

I love fireworks; they make an occasion special and bring people together. I also abhorr the injury they are capable of causing when in the wrong hands, wounding, disfiguring and destroying lives.

The clear answer as with anything that brings a lot of pleasure but sometimes pain is MODERATION.

I think the 11pm curfew and the late release of mainstream fireworks into supermarkets etc. is a step in the right direction. I believe that only larger licensed retailers should have the right to stock fireworks; get them out of newsagents and other small shops.

I admit I used to buy fireworks when I was underage, and irresponsibly set them off. I used to get them from small outlets using fake id or asking someone older to buy them. It was easy, I'm not sure this situation has changed much. I shudder when I look back and wonder how I didn't hurt myself of even worse someone else.

A couple of suggestions:

Tighten up the sale. Restrict availablility to responsible adults.

Increase penalties + use more 'stings'. Deter adults from buying them for kids, and retailers selling them to kids.

Push to keep fireworks out of the hands of irresponsible people, and we can then enjoy our tradition safely and peacefully (albeit with a bang!).

Please, don't ban fireworks.