Radio Leeds – 5th November 2010
Helen Ashton, Marketing Manager at Black Cat and Standard Fireworks is a guest on Radio Leeds’s early morning show talking about Bonfire Night and fireworks.
Radio DJ: “Millions of fireworks will be set off around the country and the county tonight. More than half of them will have come from West Yorkshire; the Standard Fireworks company have their HQ in Huddersfield. But Leeds MP Fabian Hamilton says that there’s a problem with the misuse of fireworks and he says the sale of them should be restricted to “legitimate organisations and individuals” here’s what he said”
Fabian Hamilton: “The reason I tabled this early day motion for a debate in the House of Commons is that I have constituents whose lives have been made absolute misery, like I’m sure every single MP has similar constituents, by children underage who are buying these fireworks illegally, by people who are overage and using them illegitimately – stuffing them through letter boxes and pillar boxes and this sort of thing. This is really causing some terrible disruption to people lives at this time of the year and I think that’s totally anti-social and there’s something we need to do about it”
Radio DJ: “He also says that a lot of people buy cheap fireworks and are using them as weapons”
Fabian Hamilton: “What I’m trying to get at is to stop people just buying some of the cheap fireworks that are now on the market and using them to fire at each other or to make the lives of their neighbours a total misery which is what’s happening in parts of my constituency”
Radio DJ: “Hamilton does admit though that he enjoys fireworks himself, but, thinks enforcement on rules and prices would be worthwhile”
Fabian Hamilton: “I don’t want to be a killjoy; I love fireworks, along with so many people in this country at this time of the year who absolutely adore seeing fireworks. What I want to do is to stop them being used to terrorise other people and that is a question as much of regulation and pricing as it is enforcement”
Radio DJ: “Ok that is Leeds MP Fabian Hamilton there with his concerns and his suggestions. Well the other side of that obviously is the fireworks industry; BBC Radio Leeds’s Richard Edwards has been to see Standard Fireworks, they have their HQ in West Yorkshire, he spoke to Helen Ashton and he asked if Britons were still running their own fireworks parties or if they are moving more towards the safety of an organised display”
Helen Ashton: “We conducted a Mori Poll just this last weekend to ask these sorts of questions and it revealed that this year 14 million people will be enjoying fireworks in their garden and enjoying that great British tradition of Bonfire Night. Organised displays are great and they’re great fun but there’s nothing to say that you can’t be just as safe and have just as good a time with fireworks in your back garden if you follow some simple safety tips”
Richard Edwards: “Just how important is it that you stay safe on Bonfire Night?”
Helen Ashton: “We’d urge everyone to be responsible around fireworks, and safety is our paramount concern here at Standard. The key safety tips are, buy a reputable brand of fireworks that will comply with the strict UK and European safety and quality legislation, buy those fireworks from a retailer that you trust such as a large supermarket or DIY chain, not from a store that springs up for a few weeks of the year out the back of a van or a market stall. Follow the instructions on the firework, stand at the correct spectator distance from the firework and follow the firework code. Over 14 million people this year are going to be enjoying fireworks and having a safe and enjoyable evening”
Richard Edwards: “Now some of us will remember some of the horrific safety advertisements from the 1980’s about people being injured with fireworks. Now is it difficult from an industry perspective to defend something that does leave lots of people injured every year?”
Helen Ashton: “Well were sorry to hear about any injuries that have been caused by fireworks but I must say that I must say that the injuries these days do come from the anti-social behaviour around fireworks, it’s the misuse offireworks, not the fireworks that cause the problems these days. In 2005 the government stopped recording the amount of injuries from fireworks because they had fallen so low that they felt there was no need to record them anymore”
Richard Edwards: “Now in this country we love our Bonfire Night but we also love a drink as well. What’s the industry’s view on mixing alcohol with fireworks?”
Helen Ashton: “We definitely don’t recommend that. If you’re going to be in charge of the Bonfire party and lighting those fireworks leave that bottle of wine or that bottle of beer until after you’ve had your fireworks and then you can ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable Bonfire Night”
Radio DJ: “So that was our reporter Richard Edwards speaking to Standard’s Helen Ashton about Britons using fireworks but there are obviously two sides to this debate. It seems half of the county absolutely love them, can’t wait, get excited about them, brings back memories of being a kid, and the other half can’t stand them”
Tags: black cat fireworks, blackcat fireworks, firework, firework regulations, Fireworks, fireworks at home, Standard Fireworks
