Greater Manchester Police chief says he would ban fireworks ‘given half a chance’

Greater Manchester Police chief has revealed his stance on the sale of fireworks, saying he would ban them if ‘given half the chance’.

While appearing as a guest on BBC Radio Manchester, Chief Constable Stephen Watson said he has long held the view that ‘it’s only a matter of time before somebody gets killed’, stressing that it simply ‘cannot happen’.

A concerned caller asked the police chief what will be done about fireworks in the run-up to Bonfire Night, saying: “I know it’s coming up to Bonfire time but it’s horrendous where I live.

Ben White / Unsplash

“We’re a sheltered accommodation with people over sixty, some seventy, and it’s unbelievable. There are twelve fireworks in a box that I believe are about £35 to buy and when they go off they’re like explosions.”

Host Mike Sweeney pointed out that he had previously heard callers speak about fireworks being used as a ‘quasi-weapon’, before asking the chief if he would ban fireworks altogether, to which he responded: “Given half a chance – yes I would.”

He continued: “We’ve had people almost pointing rockets at passing vehicles and buses and putting them into telephone kiosks and all the rest of it.

“This goes a long way away from kids knocking around a bonfire and letting off a few fireworks and having fun. It’s that of course that we want to preserve. This is something we’re very much alive to. 

Alex Jones / Unsplash

“We know the distress it causes to people.”

Chief Constable Watson added that GMP are working with the fire service, the local authorities and Trading Standards to stop fireworks being sold to young people ‘who shouldn’t have them.’

He explained: “We’re being really proactive about stopping people and searching people where we have suspicions that they’re going to use these weapons inappropriately. Because I’ve taken the view for a long time that it is only a matter of time before somebody gets killed. And that cannot happen.”

As it stands, anyone over the age of eighteen can legally purchase fireworks with the law permitting them to be used between the hours of 7am and 11pm. But, according to figures from NHS Digital, there were almost 2,000 occasions of people going to A&E linked to fireworks in 2018 and 2019.