THE Manchester Evening News has won a major victory in its campaign to control the sale of dangerous fireworks, thanks to one of the region's Euro MPs.
North West MEP Arlene McCarthy took our long-running fight for tighter controls to Brussels three years ago.
Now the European Commission and the European Parliament have taken up her demands for an EU-wide law that will prevent dangerous fireworks from being imported.
Mrs McCarthy said: "I am pleased that after a long campaign to have the problem of dangerous fireworks tackled at European level, we have achieved a result.
"Companies that import Chinese fireworks will now be made responsible for their safety. The new law will strengthen our campaign back home.
"For too long, elderly people, children and animals have been terrorised by anti-social behaviour involving fireworks." The M.E.N. has been fighting a four-year campaign for a ban on over-the-counter firework sales and to make fireworks safer.
A boy aged 15, from Oldham, lost part of his hand when a rocket he was holding exploded in the run-up to Bonfire Night this year.
Following yesterday's EU vote, fireworks will be classed in four categories according to their use, purpose, noise level and hazard.
The most dangerous fireworks - category four - would only be available to people "with specialist knowledge".
Importers will now have to ensure that the fireworks they buy comply with EU safety requirements.
Should there be tighter controls on firework imports? Have your say.
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Well done MEN. Please campaign against air rifles and airguns next. Look at the death, damage, injuries, animal cruelty and destruction THEY cause. A lot more than fireworks, believe me.
How about it?
No fireworks should be available over the counter-they are too dangerous and too expensive. If this isn't an option then restrict the sale to a much shorter period say a week prior to bonfire night only. Also people should be encouraged to go to organised displays where you get much better value for money anyway.
Organised displays are shorter, boring and admission charges are overpriced, properly organised home events can be just as good as organised events at less cost! killjoys and spoilsports take note!
The german Weco ones that Aldi sell for nov5th are very safe indeed, I bought some and was very pleased with them;performance/quality/ reliability and safety was extremely good, all went off in the way they should do with nothing untoward happening and ALL complied with BS7114:part2:1988. All we need to do is tighten up product quality and push for higher product reliability and productsafety on retail BS7114 garden and display fireworks.
At last we have a euro mp who is willing to fight for us on this issue well done to her .for far to long we have had to suffer from these illegal fireworks
What a great MeP Arlene is .
But we need to ban these fireworks now? Its ok people saying that fireworks must comply to british standards ,but say that to the hundreds of kids that get burned or hurtb through "playing" with fireworks while these fireworks are on sale to the general public we will always have kids getting hurt.And its ok people saying that they will only be sold to people 18 and over ??we have been saying this about alcohol for years yet we see young kids drunk on the streets each day??
BS7114 fireworks Ace Riley ARE far safer to use than the illegal cheap and nasty poor quality unpredictable unsafe firework imports that are freely being sold by criminals to the public;with your scenario I can only see the illegal blackmarket trade sales and use of these lethal potentially deadly imported non-BS7114 unclassified untested fireworks happening and more and more injuries happening as a result of a sale/private use ban.
Well Ace Riley, the laws should be better enforced and parents held accountable for their kids' actions through the laws we have, NOT the killjoy spoilsport mentality of those(like yourself and many others) who want to ban it because of a few stupid idiots who won't use fireworks properly. These idiots deserve all they get, however they (and people like you who defend the kids who misuse fireworks) shouldn't be allowed to ban the private use and retail sale of fireworks for the sensible majority.