National Campaign for Firework Safety
Annual Report Page

Every year the National Campaign for Firework Safety Director, Mr Noel Tobin, issues an Annual Report.

We have a copy of every year since 1989, minus 1990, for you read at your leisure

Annual Report 2003
The National Campaign for Firework Safety goes into another Season with a legacy from last year of high injuries and a Government still not prepared to face up, and impose realistic legislation, which most people in the country are crying out for. The high injuries of 1017, those requiring hospital treatment.  The legislation everybody is calling for is a ban on retail sales, and only licensed, and approved, firework displays.

Annual Report 2001
The biggest number of children killed by fireworks this year was in March in Jianxi Province in China.  The children at the Primary School there were doing some additional work for the local firework company when 41 were killed in an explosion.  This followed 50 fatalities the previous year.

Annual Report 2000
The National Campaign for Firework Safety reports in the year 2000 that we are still living under Victorian Firework Legislation, we refer to "The 1875 Explosives Act".  This situation existed in most parts of the United Kingdom, except Northern Ireland, where a ban on all explosives, including fireworks, was introduced in 1970.  This has been lifted for fireworks in recent years, but is already causing trouble.  The fact is both mainstream Political Parties, whilst in Government, have failed to act to protect children from devastating injuries which lead to permanent disabilities.  Every MP for the time we have been around has had a huge mailbag on this subject.  But sadly, very few MPs have taken up the issue.

Annual Report 1999
Britain faces an uniquely dangerous situation with fireworks up to the Millennium but it is not only the hundreds of large firework displays, which could cause  problems.  At a Conference on fireworks in September, the representative of Britain's largest company "Black Cat" who have taken over "Standard Fireworks" said that they were not content with people setting off just a few sparklers in the back garden they want millions of people to buy their 20 lbs firework costing £70 to set off in the back garden.  They also want New Year's Eve for all future years to become an additional firework season major firework sales time with a long lead-time despite the DTI recommendation that sales should not start until December 27.  In their grasp for the extra buck they seem to have forgotten the noise disturbance and injury to people and animals.  People and animals will now be faced with 3 months of "hell on earth", to satisfy the insatiable greed of the firework industry.

Annual Report 1998
The Fireworks Safety Regulations Bill, the first of its kind for 130 years has gone down because of the irresponsible actions of two Tory MPs, Eric Forth and Edward Leigh both former Ministers with responsibility for fireworks back in the 1980s.

Annual Report 1997
The Government has announced new plans to stop the sale of dangerous category 4 display fireworks, Aerial Shells and Aerial Maroons, to the public following the fatalities of a Headmaster David Hattersley and city man Steve Timcke, last November.

Annual Report 1996
The recent debacle in the UK with the de-regulation of the firework industry and the abolition of the fireworks import license has led to dangerous Chinese fireworks flooding the country. The Liverpool Trading Standards Officers intercepted 7 container loads of these dangerous fireworks in October 1995.

Annual Report 1995
During a 6 week period last October/November there were two fatalities and 1574 hospital treated firework injuries.  Almost a thousand injuries required further and extensive medical treatment, in some cases for months following the accident.  450 were eye injuries.  Most of the injured were children and youths.  Thousands more were treated by parents, GP's, Chemists, and First-Aiders for injuries locally, but are not included in official lists which are for hospital treated injuries only.  The injuries were 50% higher than in 1993.  There were the highest figures for 25 years.  They come on top of a 20 year high in 1993.

Annual Report 1994
Injuries up by 50% in 1994.  Two fatalities of young people.  Countless animal injured and killed by fireworks, Millions annoyed by the noise and nuisance of fireworks.  1574, mostly children and young people were sent to hospital last October/November with a firework injury.  450 were seriously injured.  Almost a thousand required further and long term treatment.  Thousands more were treated by parents, GP's Chemists and First-Aiders, for accidents at home, in the streets, or at firework parties, but they are not counted because they did not go to hospital.  All the categories of accidents are way up by 50% or more.  The majority of injuries were caused not by huge fireworks but by British common or garden type fireworks of Bangers, Rockets, Roman Candles, Sparklers and Air Bombs.  Only 425 accidents were unknown.

Annual Report 1993
The European Commission have accepted the need for stronger firework controls following a year when we lobbied and put our case to the European Parliament.  In the coming session of Parliament at Westminster we will be presenting a bill which will include, licensing of fireworks, training for operators, and a ban on local retail sales, where children can get hold of dangerous fireworks.  The instance of injuries to children and animals has increased considerably in the past year.

Annual Report 1992
Britain's firework industry is down the tubes, and its leading company Standard Fireworks has been sold by its parent Scottish Heritable Trust, because of losses.  Most fireworks for displays are now imported from Germany, Taiwan and Brazil.  The latter two, standards of consumer safety are at best questionable.  Germany, on the other hand, makes excellent fireworks, but very high powered and dangerous.

Annual Report 1991
Three  years after the British Standard on fireworks was introduced 12" shells and 4 ft rockets are being openly pedalled to any buyers in magazines. No training or licensing is required for what are the most lethal display fireworks. It is no secret that some firework display operators want bigger and more spectacular fireworks, and some of the smaller firework companies of prepared to supply them. 

Annual Report 1989
Last year three children died, and 877, mostly children and teenagers were hospitalised with fireworks injuries. 236 were seriously injured, and 269 were Eye injuries. Parents, GP's, Chemist, and First Aiders treated hundreds more for minor injuries locally which are not counted in official statistics. The fatalities widely reported by the media were the first for 16 years were not counted into official figures by the DTI. The first child died when a firework he was playing with caught light to his clothes and furniture at his home.  The  second fatality was of a child making a bigger and better fireworks from the contents of a shop firework, and the third fatality was at an outdoor event, when a oil drum was thrown on to a bonfire exploding.