The main problems with fireworks are

(1)The Noise of fireworks which can be heard for miles around, it is disturbing, frighting to people and animals and in some cases cracking windows and setting off car alarms, as for are poor animals so many are injured and killed every year, because of the shear terror these fireworks cause, others are turned in to nervous wrecks to scared to leave their home, many never completely recover from this trauma.

(2) The Firework Season (October to January) not just one night

(3) The Unpredictability of firework use, as thanks to the government, fireworks can be used 365 day of the year and legally let of 16 hours of every day.( how do you prepare and protect babies, young children, the elderly and our animals from fireworks, if you never know when or were fireworks are going to be let off?

(4) Fireworks going astray, landing on cars causing about £300 worth of damage, in gardens, roads, fields, going through conservatory roofs and windows, causing fires, thatched roofs, hay and straw stacks.

(5) The deliberate misuse of fireworks. Throwing fireworks at people, cars, animals, blowing things up, putting fireworks through letter boxes, blowing up animals, by strapping fireworks to them and videoing it.

(6) Pollution, the chemicals in fireworks are cancer causing and are released in to the air, which we all have to breath, yet the government and the fireworks industry do not seems to care about this nor about the problems this causes for people with asthma and other breathing related illness, Why?

(7) None of the governments so called new laws have done anything to stop this nightmare. Why should we have to endure the fear, danger, suffering, disturbance, damage to property and all the vet bills, year in year out?

If the firework industry could be held responsible for all the above, then maybe, they would have never made fireworks so loud and powerful in the first place. After all it has been an offense since 1911 to knowingly terrify an animal, so knowing that animals are terrified by the noise of fireworks and that their hearing is 10 times more sensitive than ours, why oh why have the fireworks industry been allowed to make fireworks so loud? 85db and above can damage human hearing, so why make fireworks 120db 130db? According to the RSPCA in November 2004, 245 animals were killed in firework related incidents.

Would it be to much to ask for us all to stop, think and care about all the people who die or are injured and maimed, every year making these dangerous explosives fireworks, if this was happening here, to us, our family and friends, there would be public out cry and something would be done to stop it, this is another reason, fireworks should be restricted to organised licensed displays only, as we could have more control on where the fireworks were coming from, and not just any firework factory that wanted to make a quick profit regardless of anyones safety.

The government has banned cat 4 fireworks from the public. So this means that cat 3 fireworks, with a recommended safety distance of 25 meters, is still on sale to the public, why? Most people's gardens are not that big. Just how much flash powder is in these cat 3 fireworks? Do people known, just how volatile flash power really is? Any thing from static electricity, mobile phones, switching on a light, etc can make it explode.

As you can see from my files on firework incidents and my firework calendar 2004/2005 to 1^st January 2006 nothing has changed, we are still in danger and suffering. In 2004 fireworks were let off nearly every month and every month in 2005, this is so unfair, Why should we have to put up with being bombarded with fireworks night after night, woken from our sleep with those loud wake the dead house shaking fireworks, do we not have any rights? Well not according to the government, the only people who's rights they seem to be considering are those who want to let off fireworks and disturb the world and the firework industry who have been allowed to make these dangerous explosives, which sound more like bombs than fireworks.

All of this misuse and abuse of fireworks, besides being frightening, very dangerous and life threatening, is stopping our police and fire brigade from dealing with all the real emergencies. This is also costing us the taxpayers a lot of money. The replacement of public property, call out costs of the emergencies services. I have been told that it cost around £300 every time the fire brigade is called out. Then there is the NHS treatment and TV and poster advertising. In Merseyside alone the police say that policing the 2004 firework season cost them £500,000. In 2002 it coast their fire service £240,000. This is without the cost of clearing up, or the replacement cost of all the damaged property, and the increased insurance cost that we will all have to pay. Now times this, by how much this has cost the rest of the country, All of which is paid for by us the taxpayers.

We have to keep the pressure on the Government, to make sure that they do change the firework laws, and that these changes protect us, our animals and our property, not just their revenue and the firework industry's profits.

my new petition, asking the Government to change the firework laws, To restrict fireworks to licensed displays only at fixed times, to include garden fireworks in the restricted category. To reduce the noise levels of all fireworks to 85db. As people and animals live near these displays, why should they have to suffer and have their hearing damaged by 130db plus? Also to make it illegal to posses and use fireworks without a valid license.

I have spoken to so many people while running this petition, who are so fed up with the government not listening, to us the public, and non of the government's so called firework laws have made any difference, as you can see from my files and my firework calendar.

Parents are still suffering sleepless nights, trying to comfort their terrified babies and young children.

People who start work early in the morning, are still having their sleep disturbed.

Elderly people are still too frightened to leave their homes, through fear of having fireworks thrown at them. A lot of people are so frighten of having fireworks put through their letter boxes, that they tape up their boxes at nigh time and even put a bowl of water under their letter box just in case

People are still having their lives endangered and property damaged by other peoples fireworks, which have gone astray.

People who live in thatched properties, are still in danger of losing their homes and even their lives, to someone else fireworks.

Farmers are still having their livestock, injuring them selves or dying, chickens are still going off lay, all because of the fear that fireworks cause. This is costing them vet bills, and loss of earnings. All of which they can not afford.

People with disability, who rely on their dogs to be their eyes, ears and hands. Are still being made house bound, or have to rely on other people, because fireworks have made their dogs frightened and nervous. A lot of these poor dogs, have to be retrained or even retired. These people lose their trusted friends and their independents.

People are having fireworks thrown at them, while walking or driving, leaving them shaking and unable to move or drive for sometime.

People, are still having to see their beloved animals turned into nervous wrecks, too frighten to even leave the house. Others are still seeing their animals die, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, cats, dogs and horses, just from the fear and stress that fireworks cause.

People, are still having their animals injured or killed while trying to flee from these terrifying noises. Incurring heart ache and vet bills. Which they could well do without and can ill afford.

According to the RSPCA in November 2004, 245 animals were killed in firework related incidents and we are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers, yet every year we go into are gardens and terrify the living daylights out of our animals. Maybe we should stop and think about how much, our animals do for us? They give us unconditional love, they help us through some of the worst time in our lives and in many cases they give us a reason to live. They are our eyes, ears and hands, they detect epileptic fits and even cancer, they help with search and rescue and sniff out drugs and explosive, they do so much for us and ask for so little, a bit of love and food. How can we be so inconsiderate and selfish.

People whose children suffer from willams syndrome, This causes very sensitive hearing. So this so called firework season is still a real nightmare for them and their parents.

People who look after the elderly, are still having to try to comfort and reassure them that world war three has not started. One lady wrote to me saying, " the look of fear in their eyes is saddening "

The Fire brigade still being called out to deal with what are thought to be explosions. Only to find out that it was fireworks.

The Coast Guards responding to distress flares, Only to discover that it was fireworks.

I could go on and on with the reasons why fireworks should be restricted to licensed displays only.

Fireworks serve no other purpose than to entertain, fireworks are not private, nor personal, as they disturb and frighten people and animals for miles around. So how can we really justify so much suffering, in the name of so called entertainment ?

The benefits of having licensed organised displays, would be to know when and where fireworks would be let off. We would have control of the times these displays could start and finish and the noise level of the fireworks. This would also make it harder for the people who misuse and abuse fireworks to obtain them. Yes I do realise that some people will still buy fireworks illegally, but I also known that it would be a lot easier to police, if there were a complete ban on fireworks being sold to the public.

I and all the people, who are backing this petition, are not killjoys, spoil sports nor are we trying to turn the country in to a nanny state. We are not against fireworks. But enough is enough. We need to stop being so selfish. Stop putting some people's pleasure before the real fear, danger and suffering that fireworks are causing, to so many people and animals all over the country.

Please help us put an end to this dreaded extended firework season, and to return to the pleasure Nov 5^th use to be. A NIGHT we use to look forward too, and not the nightmare that it has become.

Thanking You
Yours Sincerely
Teresa Kulkarni