September 30 2001 - Five held after firework attack on old people's home
Inspector Milton Kerr, of the city's Strand Road RUC base, voiced concern at the young age of those involved in the fighting.  He also hit out at older people supplying them with fireworks and orchestrating the trouble.  Mr Kerr said: "I would urge parents to be conscious of the whereabouts of their children at all times.  "I would also ask them to remind their children that not only is it an offence to throw or discharge a firework in the street but it's also extremely dangerous."

This is Trafford 27 September 2000: War fear
THE Trafford Centre might have celebrated its second birthday a few weeks ago but to the people on the Wimpey estate, who have to live in the shadows of this Goliath of a complex must have thought that the Third World War had started!   Especially when the centre is celebrating with firework displays in the middle of the night, waking up half the population of Davyhulme. If the organisers of this event, want to play at 'Star Wars' when most decent folk are in bed, then, they should have the celebration where the Trafford Centre should be - on another planet. Nobody wants to be a 'Kill Joy' and there is nothing wrong in enjoying yourself but in doing so, please have consideration for others.  H W  Urmston

This is Local London 26 September 2001: Fireworks sounded like terrorist bomb
A FIREWORK display sparked fury after residents were scared into thinking terrorists were attacking the capital.
The display at 9pm on the Friday after New York's terrorist attack has been described as "reprehensible" and "totally inappropriate".
Susan Wood of Lucas Street, Deptford, was in a cafe near Canary Wharf when a bomb went off five years ago. When she heard the first firework she thought Canary Wharf was under attack again.
She said: "I am outraged anyone could think a display was suitable on a day of international mourning."
"If football matches and the Ryder Cup could be cancelled, and the Proms adjusted to mark the occasion, these people could have postponed their do."
Rev Canon April Keech of St John's with Holy Trinity, Deptford, said children at her sports club in Greenwich were scared. "They put their hands over their ears and quite frankly, listening to those first three cracks, I was not sure what was going on either.
"It was powerfully inappropriate in a week when the world learnt about terrorist atrocities."
The fireworks, on Blackheath Road, were part of a launch party held by Middlesex-based property developer St James Homes.
A St James Homes spokesman said the company "unreservedly apologises for any upset or inconvenience caused." The fireworks were to announce the opening of the launch and had been booked for several months.

Ulster TV September 26 2001 - Loyalists 'create panic' with fireworks attack
Loyalist protesters today threw fireworks at the parents of Holy Cross schoolchildren in north Belfast.

This is York 15 September 2001: Managers to blame for fireworks death
MANAGERS of a North Yorkshire fireworks company were responsible for the death of Knaresborough display organiser Michael Mason - and risked the safety of their own employees, a court heard.  Mr Mason, 53, of Hawthorne Avenue, Knaresborough, who was well known locally, was burning firework parts in an incinerator when the door blew off and killed him in November 1998.
Leeds Crown Court was told that senior management at J and M Enterprises' failed to ensure staff were trained in the handling and disposal of fireworks   As a result, company employee Michael Blacker had unknowingly exposed himself to a possible explosion by breaking up turbo rockets, said Robert Smith QC, prosecuting.  Then untrained site manager Heidi Turton had wrongly handed them over to Mr Mason, 52, who took them to his business base and then died trying to destroy them.
Junior prosecution counsel Simon Jackson described how the management and the company also imported fireworks without permission, including some capable of making a blast-like explosion, and breached prohibition orders forbidding their movement.  Joint managing director John Mather was arrested for mistakenly trying to take a live firework on to an aeroplane at Newcastle Airport on January 20, 1999.  The prosecution accepted it was a genuine error. Operations manager Peter James Denton had taken it from a box containing dummy rockets and given it to him to show to potential Polish purchasers.
Joint managing director Nigel Ronald Jackson, of Spencers Hotel, Harrogate, Mather, of St Paul's Drive, Mount Pleasant, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, Denton, of Addey Crescent, South Elmsall, Pontefract, and J and M Enterprises of Wetherby Ltd, of Melmerby, Ripon, pleaded guilty to offences under explosives and Health and Safety legislation.
Some of the charges related to the HSE's investigation of the death of Mr Mason, 52, of Hawthorn Avenue, Knaresborough, who died on November 8, 1998.
Mr Jackson described how over four years, the senior officers and the company broke the law by not getting official approval for some fireworks they imported.   Judge Norman Jones QC will sentence the defendants on Monday after hearing defence barristers.

This is Bradford   10 September 2001: Call to ban noisy fireworks
A Bradford police chief is recommending a change in the law to ban noisy fireworks at private displays.
Chief Superintendent Phil Read, of Bradford North Police, said the move was in response to concerns of residents who were being kept awake at night by the fireworks.   "The law needs to be changed so people have to have licences to buy these large air bombs that are being let off," he said. "People are going to have to contact Environmental Health, naming names and letting officers know who is responsible for these incidents." 
Residents in Heaton claim fireworks are being let off as part of Asian wedding celebrations. One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had been forced to sell his home to escape the noise.   "They build up over two weeks," he said. "They start off with the repeater bombs, but you don't know when it's going to start so it's hard to get to sleep.  "It gets to where you are in tears. I don't want to come home at night. The cats are terrified and last year the noise drove the bird life from the area."
Ishtiaq Ahmed, spokesman for the Bradford Council of Mosques, said the displays were an integral part of Muslim wedding celebrations.
"Weddings are seen as an occasion to celebrate and frequently involve fireworks," he said.   "It's up to the family to celebrate weddings, as long as they respect the peace and harmony of the neighbourhood. If it's causing a distraction then I think we need to refrain from that kind of thing."
Elizabeth Helmich has been campaigning for firework safety in Bradford for years, and says that stronger laws are needed.
"There's no one law covering fireworks," she said. "A lot of the problems do come down to the people who are setting them off. They could be a little more thoughtful to people in the surrounding area."
One solution to the problem is to ban private displays, but Gerry Sutcliffe, MP for Bradford North, said this could cause further problems.
"The concerns with that are it would drive it underground and people would start making their own," he said.
Meanwhile, Bradford Council is launching a set of guidelines for firework use. They are:
think about the effects on the local community;
do not use fireworks which have a loud bang or the larger display fireworks;
do not set off fireworks over a long period of time;
remember it is an offence to set off fireworks in the street or road because of the dangers to pedestrians and road users.
The Council's environmental health manager, Carol Morgan, said: "The Council already works in partnership with the police, Trading Standards and the fire service to educate people about firework and bonfire safety and now we are calling on people to use these common sense rules before letting off fireworks whatever they are celebrating."

This is Bradford   7 September 2001: Letters to the Editor
SIR - Thank you to Shiraz Ayub for explaining to Mr Milne the reason for the use of explosive fireworks late at night.  The letter admits that the fireworks are used for celebratory rather than religious reasons. No sensible person would object to the celebration of a wedding, but the use of fireworks late at night obviously causes resentment and distress.
In answer to the points raised about me:
As a pensioner, I have no young children, but from previous letters of complaint in the T&A I am sure some young families must be affected by the noise. Also people who have to get up early to go to work won't be pleased having their sleep disturbed.
Yes, I do have a dog and she is petrified by the noise of fireworks and she DOES run round the house looking for somewhere to hide. On the approach to November 5 I get a supply of tranquillisers from the vet, but you cannot keep an animal on them all the year round. So, on this point, I was not exaggerating.
Believe me, it is very distressing when your pet is terrified and there is nothing you can do.
Mrs R M K  Bradford 3.
SIR - In response to Mr Ayub's letter "Stop whining and enjoy the display" (September 1). He explains that the late-night firework displays occurring all over Bradford are down to the fact that many Asian weddings are taking place.  I have a suggestion for Mr Ayub. When someone from my family next ties the knot, I thought we could all pop round to his house and throw confetti over him, so he can "share in our joy". It's against the law to use a car horn after 11pm, so why should we have to be woken up by fireworks at all hours? I think the correct term for what Mr Ayub calls a "celebration" would be in fact more correctly termed "breaking the peace". C W  Clayton.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Our thanks to the many other readers who have written to us on this subject.

This is Wiltshire 7 September 2001: Outrage over sale and use of fireworks
This out-of-season firework barrage has to be stopped  those who put on these displays for weddings and birthdays should have to put an announcement in the local paper one week before they wish to have them.  Furthermore, the sale of fireworks should be banned in High Street shops; the only people allowed to sell them should be the manufacturers, and only to properly licensed display companies.  The sale of fireworks to the general public should stop now.
I write this letter, because on Saturday night/Sunday morning my family were woken by the most frightening bang which they thought was a gun being fired. However, it turned out to be youths setting off fireworks at the end of the street. This also distressed our pets.  So I call for the government, at national or local level, to step in and do something before this problem becomes out of hand altogether.  AD W.  Bradford On Avon.

This is Bradford   5 September 2001: Letters to the editor
SIR - Since my recent letter about loud fireworks I have received numerous responses from people - all either angry, frightened or resentful.
One in particular, a letter from an elderly woman in the Toller Lane district, was heartbreaking to read. It described a climate of fear, intimidation and helplessness - ordinary people's lives are being made unbearable by these increasingly regular explosions.  How many children are woken; how many old people terrified; how many animals distressed, and how many otherwise tolerant citizens are made to feel deeply resentful by the anti-social behaviour of a section of the community?  It is apparent that local authority agencies and the police are either unwilling or unable to take action, and I have seen no evidence of interest from local politicians. So, the conclusion is that we have to learn to live with it.
After ten days of depressingly regular explosions, culminating in a particularly unpleasant Sunday evening - I am left to reflect that if tolerating this kind of behaviour is integral to living in a multi-cultural society then I, like many other people in this city, am beginning to question whether I want to be part of it at all.   A M Heaton
SIR - I am sure many people agree with Mr Milne's sentiments regarding the constant bangs of these nuisance fireworks.
It is a subject raised many times over the past few years on your Letters page but no department ever gives an answer to our questions as to why this is allowed to go on, especially at 10pm until 1am. I complained to the local police at 1.30am on Sunday, August 26 regarding firework "bangs" being let off and was told there is no law against it, to complain to the Environmental Health people, and it is the wedding season after all.  Bring back the days when we only heard fireworks on November 5 or thereabouts or by organised displays. Something definitely needs doing for many people to retain their sanity.
Mrs J B Bradford.
SIR - Even Shiraz Ayub (Letters, September 1) may know that November 5 comes only once a year. Many believe that even this is too often.
Since some people seem unable to enjoy themselves without disrupting the peace of others, we may assume that quiet fireworks are not an option.
L H  Bradford.

This is Wiltshire 31 August 2001: Pet owners want end to fireworks
Residents are campaigning to restrict the sale of fireworks in order to protect terrified pets.  Elaine and Michael Rendell, of Trowbridge Road, Bradford on Avon, are sick of fireworks continually being set off near their home which frighten their pets.  The couple are joining forces with a national campaign, based in Somerset, which is aiming to restrict the sale and use of fireworks.
Mrs Rendell said: "They just seem to go off all the time, in the middle of the night and in summer, our dogs are petrified.  "We don't mind on Firework Night because we can go away or make arrangements but when it's all the time you can't do anything."
The Rendells are now joining the national campaign Control of Fireworks for Animal Welfare, Coffaw.   Following a firework-related incident with her horse in 2000, and then hearing from other animal owners of many cases of distress and deaths, Jo Steer set up a campaign to try to change the current firework situation. 
Ms Jo Steer said: "I have received many letters and phone calls from the elderly, parents of mentally handicapped children and the blind all suffering as a result of fireworks so this campaign is on their behalf as well as the countless animals that have died, been injured or suffered as a result of what many now call firework hell."
According to the 1911 Protection of Animals Act, it is an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any domestic or captive animals and the penalty on conviction is a fine of up to £5,000 or up to six months' imprisonment.  Mrs Steer explained that under the act, if firework users are aware of a neighbouring animal that is likely to be distressed by fireworks and the owners are not warned, the firework users are committing an offence.
Lucy Clark, press officer for the RSPCA said: "We welcome the fact the Government is looking into the problem, and groups such as Coffaw are raising awareness but we would still urge pet owners to ensure their animals are kept inside during a firework display and the television or radio is left on to try to drown out the noise."
Contact Jo Steer on (01823) 400316 or email coffaw@southlawne28.co.uk

This is Worcestershire 6 August 2001: Fury as fireworks go off once again
SPARKS are flying once again in the St John's and Dines Green areas of Worcester as impromptu firework displays continue to plague residents.  Fireworks were being let off around 10pm on Saturday.   People have also made complaints about noise at 11pm on Friday, July 27, and at 1am and 10.30pm on Sunday, July 29.  They believe they may be the handiwork of a firework fanatic.
He  has previously made families see red by letting off fireworks at all hours and has been investigated by environmental health officers.   As the Evening News went to press he was unavailable to comment on the latest incidents.   "The residents of St John's are at the mercy of someone mindless who lets off fireworks without prior warning out of season," said Hilary Davies, of McIntyre Road.
"We are all aware of the need to keep pets indoors approaching Bonfire Night, but these are such sporadic incidents it is impossible to predict when they will happen."  Mrs Davies said the family dog, a Border collie called Bailey, had been traumatised by the random bangs and needed to be sedated when there was a loud noise.   "When there is a loud noise Bailey just lies there, panting really hard and starts to trying to get under, or in the bed," said Mrs Davies.
She felt environmental health officers needed to be available out-of-hours to try to catch the culprit red-handed.   Mrs Davies feared that the firework fanatic was up to his old tricks again.  "We have had fireworks before but they were usually further away, these seemed closer," said Katie Lettley of Raleigh Close, Dines Green - another resident who was disturbed by the late night explosions.  "This was worse because it was hot and the windows were open. After they went off dogs were barking all over the area."
The city council confirmed complaints had been made.   "We received a call last Monday about a fireworks incident over the weekend in the general Dines Green area," said Anita Fletcher, principal environmental health officer.  "But we have not investigated it because it is too big an area to tell exactly where the fireworks came from.  "Without more exact information we could put two-and-two together and get five."

This is Wiltshire 3 August 2001: Support grows for new fireworks laws
I WOULD like to lend my support to your correspondents of the last couple of weeks on the subject of fireworks.  I too am tired (literally) of having my evenings and/or sleep disturbed by "private" firework displays. The trouble is they are anything but private.
Generally, public displays like the recent one at the opening of the West Wilts Show, are publicised and one knows when and what to expect, can protect pets/small children/oneself from the effects. Notice of private displays is rarely, if ever, given, and the surprise factor gives rise to the greatest problems.  I would like to propose a law, even a by-law, requiring planning permission to be obtained for all firework displays. This would automatically produce advance warning in the public notices about planning permission, and would at least provide the opportunity for regulation of the frequency, timing and duration of displays by the council.  G E. 
I HAVE the same problem as Mrs Nettleton, of Melksham, had. I have a little dog terrified of fireworks. She was fine until November 5 1999, full of life and fun to be with, but she changed completely from then on. She is now terrified to leave the house, she has torn my carpets to bits trying to get under them and she looks sad all the time. I have got tranquillisers from the vet but you never know when fireworks are going to be set off. I appreciate that a lot of people don't give a damn about animals, so I think some sort of law should be brought out to limit the use of fireworks.  C H. Corsham.
I STRONGLY agree and sympathise with two recent letters about fireworks.  My own dog finds the period between late October and New Year a particular nightmare, but the use of fireworks all the year round is increasing fast. The big problem is that nowadays enjoyment appears to lie in their noise rather than their visual beauty.  I thought there had been recent legislation to ban the import and use of excessively noisy fireworks  in practice they get noisier each year, and this is an aspect which might bear investigation by bodies like town councils and the police. Certainly, the frequent and random use of loud fireworks does inflict real suffering on young children, on animals and on their owners. MRS B C.  Bradford on Avon.
I CAN empathise with Mrs Nettleton (Wiltshire Times, July 27). Melksham is not the only place to have fireworks at all times all through the year. We have the same nuisance here in Chippenham.  Mrs B M.  Chippenham.

This is Local London   2 August 2001: Rock roadie faces being banged up
A FORMER roadie for Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin is accused of bombing his neighbours' garden.
David Frederick Mills, of Shirley Road, Enfield appeared before Enfield magistrates last Thursday following an incident the previous weekend.
He was bailed to appear at the Old Bailey on August 15 after magistrates heard how a device blew out a kitchen window of the property below Mr Mills' home.
The five students who lived there later found what was described as a piece of metal of baked bean tin size wrapped in black tape.
Mr Mills' defence said it was a 'starburst' firework, a type of Roman candle, which he had used when he worked on pyrotechnics for rock band stage shows.
He claims it was a joke and did not expect such an explosion.
When a police search team visited Mr Mills's home, they discovered a pump-action shotgun, cartridges and pepper spray.
A further search of his estranged wife's shed uncovered three air rifles, an air pistol and two shotguns.
He is charged with causing an explosion; criminal damage with intent; possession of firearms; possession of a pump-action gun without a licence; possession of ammunition; possession of a prohibited weapon; and two counts of possession of a shotgun without a certificate.
Mr Mills was warned that, if found guilty, he faces a substantial custodial sentence.
As part of his bail conditions Mr Mills has been ordered to stay at his mother's home in Dorset.  The trial continues.

This is Wiltshire 27 July 2001: Sorrow over fireworks
I AM writing this letter just after having a much loved family pet put down. All the sadness our family is feeling is due to fireworks.
Our dog Taffy's problems started when she was badly scared by a firework and ran away. We eventually had a phone call from a kind person in Rowde who had found her. From that day on she had been extremely nervous. All walks stopped because she was afraid to go out.   Gradually after lots of love, patience and medication we got her back to a reasonable state. Unfortunately, it seems to have become fashionable to use fireworks at any function from a fete to a private birthday party. We have heard fireworks at all times all through the year.  The final straw came on Saturday July 14. We had to go out all day, so someone sat with Taffy until 7pm that evening. When we arrived home at 12.45 Sunday morning, we found one of our doors completely clawed and bitten through. Obviously Taffy had been thoroughly demented for some reason. At 1.15 Sunday morning more fireworks started. On speaking to people on that morning, I was told that fireworks had been going off during the previous evening when we were out.
After a week of watching a thoroughly distressed dog, and talking to vets, we made our sad decision. The dog that jumped into the car that morning looked beautiful and healthy, but she wasn't the dog we had known.   Surely, there must be some law that states when fireworks can be used.  I urge anyone, whether other pet owners or people with young children, to make their views known.
Nothing can bring our lovely Taffy back but perhaps someone else can be spared the tough decision that we had to make.
Mrs M N.  Melksham.

This is Mid Sussex   23 July 2001: Vandals blow up dog bin
A firework stuffed in a dog bin exploded and scattered debris for 20 metres.
The explosion, close to a children's playground in The Level, Brighton, was one of three in dog bins in the city yesterday.
All were caused by high-powered fireworks. No one was hurt.
The Level explosion could be heard by staff at Brighton police station in John Street, a quarter of a mile away.
Three men were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and possession of drugs.
Scenes of crime officers examined the remains of the exploded dog bin. A Brighton police spokesman said: "It wasn't the most pleasant of jobs."
Police are searching for a driver who ran away from a blazing car after it exploded in a ball of flames .
The car smashed into a hedge and then caught fire, setting a 15 ft section of garden hedge alight at Crossways, Plumpton Green, on Friday night.
The car was burnt out.
Police searched the countryside and checked local pubs but were unable to find the runaway driver.

This is Worcestershire 17 July 2001: Keeping night-time sky firework-free
IT'S hard not to sympathise with the residents of Worcester's Westside who live in fear of the explosive fireworks displays which have punctuated the peace of the night in recent months.   The impromptu spectacles aren't the end of the world, but such anti-social behaviour would drive most of us round the bend. The trouble is, how do you stop it?
We believe the time has come for some kind of permit system to be considered which would govern the sale of fireworks outside of the traditional Bonfire Night period.  It seems reasonable to us that a week either side of November 5, each year, is enough to fuel most family functions. Otherwise, we'd suggest, the bigger expressions of celebration should be left to organised displays.   We're realistic enough to admit, however, that such a permit system wouldn't solve the problem alone.
Some people would tuck a collection away for some fun at other times of the year, of course, but we're confident that most people wouldn't bother.   The pyrotechnics which have kept Westside residents fuming instead of sleeping on too many occasions were not your cheap, corner-shop variety, by all accounts.   So the other move should be tighter controls on the bigger and brighter `bombs' which have been imported from the Far East in increasing numbers during recent years.   Apart from that, it's frustrating for us to admit, there appears little else which can be done to prevent a repeat of last week's unwelcome display, other than a member of the public taking the law into his own hands - and we wouldn't suggest or condone such a thing.
The nature of the beast is that fireworks are mobile. Noise abatement notices are one thing, but the chance of environmental officers or the police catching anyone in the act is remote.

Pediatrics  July 2001  Fireworks-Related Injuries to Children.
Fireworks are devices designed for the purpose of producing a visible or audible effect by combustion, deflagration, or detonation.
Every year, US residents celebrate the Fourth of July and other festive occasions with fireworks. As a result, in 1999, an estimated 8500 individuals, approximately 45% of them children younger than 15 years, sustained fireworks-related injuries requiring emergency medical treatment.
Since 1994, the annual number of people receiving emergency medical treatment for fireworks-related injuries has decreased by about one third.
The hands (40%), eyes (20%), and head and face (20%) are the body areas most often involved.
About one third of eye injuries from fireworks result in permanent blindness.
Burns account for more than half of fireworks-related injuries, and lacerations, contusions, and abrasions are also common.
During 1999, 16 people died as a result of injuries associated with fireworks.
Under regulations promulgated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1976, any firecracker containing more than 50 mg of explosive material is banned, although aerial devices may contain up to 130 mg of powder charge. In addition, CPSC regulations include fuse burn time limits, cautionary labelling requirements, and criteria to prevent tipover and blowout of devices.
Additional regulations address requirements for certain reloadable tube and aerial shell fireworks and the stability of multiple-tube devices.
Consumer fireworks, formerly known as "Class C" fireworks and often inappropriately referred to as "safe and sane" fireworks, include fountains and candles that shoot out sparks or flaming balls, rockets with sticks (called "bottle rockets," because it is customary to stand them in a soda bottle for ignition), other rockets, firecrackers, sparklers, and smoke devices. These are permitted under federal regulation, and their sale is regulated by state and local authorities.
At present, 10 states ban all consumer fireworks, and 5 additional states ban all consumer fireworks except sparklers, "snakes," or other novelty items.
In addition to ongoing injury surveillance, the CPSC conducts a special study each year of fireworks-related injuries requiring emergency medical care that occur around the Fourth of July.
The 1999 CPSC study found that one third of the fireworks-related injuries were caused by firecrackers, approximately 10% of which were illegal. Almost 20% of the injuries were from rockets. Notably, sparklers, which are mistakenly believed to be safe by many consumers, caused 10% of these fireworks-related injuries.
Although most sparkler-related injuries are minor bums and corneal abrasions, sparklers can reach temperatures greater than 1000 [degrees] F at the tip and can cause serious burns by igniting clothing.
One study found that two thirds of injuries from sparklers occurred among children 5 years and younger.
A case-control study designed to control for the popularity of various devices found firecrackers and aerial devices to be associated with the greatest risk of injury. It also found that the highest chance of injury requiring hospitalization occurred with illegal and homemade devices.
Half of the fireworks-related eye injuries and an even higher proportion of those resulting in permanent blindness or enucleation are caused by bottle rockets.
Every type of consumer firework has been associated with serious, injury or death.

This is Bradford   8 June 2001: Jail for firework prank
A 23-year-old Riddlesden man has been jailed after a late-night firework prank destroyed a cash dispensing machine at a Skipton supermarket.
Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday how the firework, which Daniel Kollatos brought back from a trip to visit his father in Greece, caused a `massive bang' which irreparably damaged the £15,000 machine.  Kollatos and his 23-year-old friend Phillip Smith were surprised by the force of the blast and immediately fled the scene in Smith's Ford Escort car.  But prosecutor Martin Rudland said a hotel waiter who had heard the explosion was able to get the registration number and make of the car and it was later traced by police.   The two men denied being involved in the incident at the Morrisons store last May, but on Tuesday they both pleaded guilty to a charge of causing criminal damage, being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
Kollatos, of Church Street, Riddlesden, was jailed for six months for the offence and received a consecutive sentence of two years in prison after he also admitted buying heroin on behalf of undercover police officers from his own supplier.
Smith, of Bolton Road, Silsden, had his case adjourned until July 6 when he will be sentenced at Teeside Crown Court following the preparation of a report about him.
A further charge against both men of attempting to steal cash from the HSBC automated teller machine was ordered to lie on the file.
Mr Rudland explained that when the firework device was set off staff were working inside the Morrisons store, but he conceded that the large car park area was `pretty deserted'.  He said pieces of debris from the explosion were scattered up to four metres away and expert investigation into the device revealed that it contained high explosive known as PETN.  Mr Rudland said such a firework would not be lawful in the UK, but the prosecution could not gainsay Kollatos' explanation that it was used in Greek festivals.  The court heard that the two men had been drinking ouzo before it was suggested that the firework should be wrapped up inside plastic bags to make a louder bang.
Kollatos' barrister Graham Reeds said: "This was a prank - if a somewhat dangerous prank - that was to be carried out for their amusement and not even for the fantasy of commercial gain.  "The risk which was caused, and the basis on which this defendant has had to plead to endangering life, must on any view have been completely minimal."  He added: "This was late at night in a big car park with absolutely no one around who wasn't protected by at least two walls."
Mr Reeds noted that ironically a month after the incident Kollatos unearthed an unexploded bomb and handed it over to the authorities.
Passing sentence on the father-of-one, Judge Peter Armstrong accepted that he was an intelligent man with not much of a previous record to speak of.
"Not only was this a prank, but it was a dangerous prank in that it could have put someone's life at risk had they been in close proximity to the explosion. It was certainly a very loud bang and the upshot was that a very expensive piece of equipment was damaged."

This is Local London  9 May 2001: MAN NEARLY BLINDED: Fireworks blast blamed on youths
A WELLING restaurant owner claims he could have been blinded after a firecracker was hurled into his eatery by schoolchildren.
He believes the children responsible for the attack came from nearby Westwood College and that the firework was illegally brought in from France.
But Westwood headteacher Karen Clements has hit back by saying the incident may have been caused by pupils from one of the neighbouring schools.
Stuart Bathurst, the 56-year-old owner of Lloyds Restaurant, on The Green, was working in the dining area of his restaurant with the front door slightly ajar.
A firecracker was thrown through the front door and exploded in the dining area.
Mr Bathurst walked out of the restaurant to tell the youths to stop but he says he was subjected to a tirade of abuse.
He said: "I went back inside and a few seconds later another firecracker exploded. "This time it was only 18 inches away from me. "Any closer and I could have gone blind."
Police were called to the scene but by the time they arrived the youths had gone.
Westwood headteacher Karen Clements defended her pupils by saying: "We are investigating this matter ourselves but I will say we are not the only school in the area.   "I have contacted the headteachers of Welling School and Crown Woods and they are investigating it.  "One or two students from this school may have been involved, but we are still investigating it ourselves.  "If there is solid evidence that a pupil is responsible for this, he or she will be dealt with accordingly."
Crown Woods headteacher Michael Murphy said he had heard nothing about the incident.
But a spokesman for Welling School said: "There's no hard evidence at this stage that any of our pupils were involved. "But we are investigating and will co-operate fully with the other schools if our investigation throws up some concrete evidence. "We will take appropriate action in accordance with the schools behaviour policy."

This is Bradford     27 April 2001: £1,000 penalty for firework landlord
A former Oakenshaw pub owner has been found guilty of failing to take adequate safety precautions after two people were injured by a rogue firework at a Bonfire Night display.
Two spectators had to be taken to hospital to be treated for burns after blue balls of flame from an air bomb repeater flew into the crowd at an event at the Salthorn pub.
Anthony Lumb, who ran the pub when the accident happened on November 5, 1999, was fined £1,000 with £1,000 costs by Bingley Magistrates.
The court heard how the firework fell over after it was lit and rocketed across the opposite side of Cleckheaton Road into the crowd at the front of the pub, where it exploded.
Andrew Parkin, who was enjoying the display with his family, and another spectator Lisa Wilson both suffered burns to their legs and were taken to Dewsbury Hospital.
Prosecuting for Bradford Council, Richard Winter said there was an inadequate safety zone between the car park where the fireworks were being set off and where spectators were standing. He said people on the road could also have been at risk.
Mr Winter added that Lumb, of Wakefield Road, Drighlington, had not asked advice from the Health and Safety Executive or Bradford Council before holding his display which was attended by around 70 people.
"You are responsible for making sure the people at the public house and bonfire are safe," he said.
"You didn't take into account that there was a public highway right through the middle of the bonfire and firework display."
Mr Lumb said he had followed instructions on the back of the firework to the letter and had ten years' experience of holding such events.
"The reason for the accident is that the firework was faulty," he said. "Obviously it must have been or it wouldn't have discharged as it did. But I am not an expert in fireworks.
"There was nothing I could do whatsoever. It all happened in a split second. If I had gone back to it, I would probably have endangered my own life."
Lumb, who still runs a pub and wine bar in Bingley, a pub in Morley and a night club in Shipley, told the court he had immediately been to see Mr Parkin and asked if he wanted an ambulance, but he had refused.
He said he didn't know both injured people had later gone to hospital and he was cleared of a charge of failing to notify Bradford Council that people were hurt during the display.
Magistrates found Lumb guilty on a charge of failing to ensure the safety of spectators at a firework display, saying anyone passing on Cleckheaton Road was a potential spectator and the measurements did not fall within health and safety guidelines.
They decided there was an inadequate means of communication between Lumb, who was setting the fireworks off, and the four members of staff who were marshalling the event.
Also, a first-aid post was not visible.

This is Oxfordshire   23 April 2001: Jail for firework prank that 'went a bit wrong'
A teenager was sentenced to 12 months in prison for setting fire to a shop, causing £145,000 worth of damage.
Lee Webster, 18, of Colwell Drive, Witney, pleaded guilty to arson after he pushed a firework through the letterbox of the shop, New Look, in the town's Woolgate Centre, shortly before 9pm on November 4 last year.
Paul Read, prosecuting, told Oxford Crown Court that the firework set fire to clothes and racks inside the store.
By the time the fire services arrived the store was well alight.
CCTV evidence showed Webster walking with a group of friends through the shopping centre.
Webster said that he just wanted the firework to go bang and set off the alarms in the shop, and added: "It all went a bit wrong."
Paul Mitchell, defending, said that Webster was an immature man who wanted to impress his friends.
He added that his client had no desire to set fire to the shop and that the consequences of his actions were out of proportion to his intention.
He added that he felt community service would be an adequate punishment.
However, Judge Anthony King disagreed and sentenced Webster to 12 months in prison.

This is Oxfordshire   25 March 2001: Arson admitted
A teenager has admitted a charge of arson, after he put a firework through the letterbox of a shop.
Lee Webster, 18, of Colwell Drive, Witney, also admitted stealing four bottles of whisky from the Wine Rack off-licence in Eynsham on October 14 last year.
Paul Mitchell, defending, told Oxford Crown Court the arson on November 4 was a "prank" which the defendant did not expect would cause the amount of damage it did. Webster was released on unconditional bail and will be sentenced for the two offences when he returns to court on April 20.

This is Bradford   15 March 2001: Pub firework party ended in horror
A rogue firework spiralled into a father-of-two and exploded in a ball of flame setting him on fire, a court heard.
Andrew Parkin had to tear at his clothes as other spectators at the pub firework display threw beer at him to try to douse the flames, Bingley magistrates were told.
Landlord Anthony Lumb, pictured, of the Salthorn pub, Oakenshaw, Bradford, denies two charges of breaching health and safety laws when he appeared before Bingley Magistrates Court yesterday.
Lumb, 31, of Wakefield Road, Drighlington, organised the display and bonfire in the car park on the opposite side of the road to the pub and was responsible for setting off fireworks on Bonfire Night in 1999.
The court heard how three `blue balls of flame' shot off from the bonfire at the Cleckheaton Road pub and headed straight for Mr Parkin, from Oakenshaw, who had been enjoying the show with his partner and two sons.
Mr Parkin told magistrates: "I was facing the firework display and I saw three blue balls of flame coming from the bonfire over by the car park.
"The first one exploded, I'm not sure what happened to the second one and the third one came directly to me and I just managed to turn in time when it exploded.
"There was an almighty bang and I starting to feel a searing pain as it burnt through my tracksuit bottoms. I thought I was on fire and I started dancing around trying to get my trousers down.
"A couple of people threw beer at me so my trousers must have been on fire."
He said the firework had arched round towards the crowd from the direction of where the fireworks were being set off by Mr Lumb.
Mr Parkin said he went to the back of the pub where he was told a woman would be able to give him treatment but she was unable to find a first aid kit and he decided to go to hospital.
Lisa Wilson who had also been hit said nobody brought a first aid kit and she had bandaged her leg with a wet pillow case before going to hospital.
Prosecuting for Bradford Council Richard Wilson said the display had posed a safety risk to the crowd, road users, and pedestrians on the nearby footpath. He said there were no barriers or marshals or first aid kit on hand.
"The distances between the firework display compared in relation to the public were too close. The arrangement he made in totality was inadequate to protect the public from risk."
Nick Dry, representing Mr Lumb, said neither of the injured people had reasonable cause for concern about safety before the accident had happened.
In cross examination he questioned whether the witnesses' memory of events of the incident, 18 months ago, could still be clear.
The case continues

Associated Press 9  March, 2001 China Vows New School Safety Laws
  BEIJING (AP) - Families held funerals Friday for children killed in a school blast in south-east China and insisted the government was hiding the truth in blaming the explosion on a lone madman.    Legislators expressed shocked at the disaster and called for laws to improve safety in China's underfunded schools.   State media stuck to the official explanation that a deranged man walked into the school in Fang Lin village, Jiangxi province, with two bags of explosives on Tuesday and detonated them, killing  42 and injuring 27.
State media said he died in the blast.   
Victims' families accused the government of failing to conduct a proper investigation and blamed school officials, who they said forced children to make fireworks - a key industry in the area - in class.   ``They should start by penalising the responsible village officials and school teachers,'' said Zhang Shushen, whose 11-year-old boy died.    While some Chinese are fearful of criticising their government to foreign news media, parents freely vented their outrage. Even after Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji blamed a lone madman, parents contacted by phone continued to accuse officials of lying. They also disputed the official death toll, saying at least 53 people were killed, all but four of them children.    On Friday morning, 36 children were buried and six others cremated, said Gao Yumei, the aunt of an 11-year-old victim.   Other families were conducting religious ceremonies and had not yet buried their dead, Gao said. She said the government delivered more than 40 coffins to the village by truck Thursday.   
Relatives said police maintained a heavy presence in the village and detained reporters who tried to interview victims' families.  ``The government wants to unify the explanations of the disaster,'' said Wen Hunan, whose 11-year-old son was injured. He said his outgoing long-distance telephone service had been cut off, although he could still receive calls.    Villagers had varying stories about Li Chuicai, the 33-year-old firework maker said by the official Xinhua News Agency to have set off the explosion. Xinhua said he was known in the village as ``psycho'' and that in notes found by police at his home Li wrote about detonating explosives and killing dozens of people.    Yang Dongliang, whose 11-year-old sister was killed, said Li did appear to have mental problems. But he also said Li had supplied explosives to the school for its fireworks business for years. He said Li delivered 132 pounds of saltpetre, which is used in gunpowder, to the school Tuesday ``and somehow caused the explosion carelessly.''   ``The killers are still the school principal and the village party secretary,'' said Yang, 17. ``They forced my sister and her classmates to make fireworks in order to make money for themselves. They both should be executed.''
At China's national parliament, which is in the midst of its 11-day annual meeting in Beijing, delegates called for laws requiring school safety officials and compensation payments for student deaths and injuries.
  One delegate cited a survey that found 164 ``abnormal deaths'' in 76 high schools in the last two years, Xinhua said. It didn't say how all of them died but cited the delegate as saying that murders, hooliganism, robberies and other crimes were taking place in schools.    The semi-official China News Service said delegates from Jiangxi were shocked by the explosion. One vowed the province would tighten management of schools and also called for more laws protecting students.   Parents in Fang Lin said pupils had been forced to make fireworks since 1998, but they couldn't move their children because the village had only one primary school.   Zhang Chenggen, whose 11-year-old son was killed, said pupils normally worked a half-day assembling firecrackers in class. Profits subsidised the school and went to school officials, he said.
  Zhang called the fireworks industry a way of life in that part of Jiangxi, and demanded laws barring such dangerous work in schools. ``The government should strictly forbid any production outside of authorised and safe factories,'' Zhang said.

The Guardian 8 March, 2001 School-blast pupils were making fireworks explosion
China was shaken yesterday by the news that dozens of children have been killed in another accident blamed on poverty and poor safety standards.
The explosion at a primary school in Jiangxi province on Tuesday occurred while pupils were putting fuses into firecrackers, a grieving parent said.
The official toll so far is 41, most of them pupils aged eight or nine.
"When I saw a leg or an arm sticking out, I went after it," Ding Mingxing, one of the villagers who rushed to the scene, said. "I rescued four kids, three boys and a girl, but I couldn't find my son."
Mr Ding said the children were forced to assemble firecrackers to help the school financially.
"[The school authorities] called it 'supporting oneself through school by working'," he said. "The kids who didn't do the work were forced to pay fines."
The explosion in Fanglin, Wanzai county, happened the day after the prime minister, Zhu Rongji, said in Beijing that China suffered from "frequent occurrences of grave accidents".
Television stations showed a scene of complete devastation. Part of the school's second floor was reduced to rubble. Soldiers searched through bricks and rafters, some using their bare hands.
Provincial leaders immediately returned from the national people's congress, where Mr Zhu made his comment, to take charge of the enquiries into the incident.
County officials admitted that an accident with firecrackers might have been be to blame, but said that the investigation was still under way.
Rural schools have been badly hit by economic reforms which have shifted education budgets on to local governments, which are often unable to pay teachers their full salaries or buy equipment.
Villagers said that the fireworks enterprise had been set up by the headteacher with the help of the village's Communist party secretary.
Mr Ding said that he and other parents had complained about the business to officials at a higher level, but the matter was not treated seriously.
He said that the school was trying to fill a rush order in time for the Grave Sweeping Festival on April 5, when families tend their ancestors' graves and light firecrackers. About 190 people were in the school at the time.
Wanzai county is in a mountainous area of Jiangxi - one of China's least developed provinces - close to the border with Hunan.
It has several fireworks exporting companies.
Most of the rural people not working on the land are engaged in the fireworks business, and many of them assemble firecrackers at home.
Last year more than 50 people were killed in two separate explosions caused by the illegal manufacture of fireworks in the province.
The serious accidents of the type referred to by Mr Zhu include mining disasters, bridge collapses and river dykes washed away by floods.

Guardian Unlimited, 7 March 7, 2001 'Fireworks blast' kills 41 at China school
A huge explosion at a school in China that killed at least 41 people may have been caused by fireworks being assembled by pupils in the cash-strapped school, residents said.   The death toll, put by some reports at around 60 including many children, was expected to rise further. More than 30 people were injured, hospital officials said.
Yesterday's blast flattened the two-storey school building in the village of Fanglin in the south eastern province of Jiangxi, burying scores of children under rubble.  Unconfirmed reports on Chinese websites suggested children in the school were making fireworks in their classrooms to raise pocket money or funds for the school, and some villagers told the AFP news agency that teachers had been forcing children at the school to make fireworks for three years.
A spokesman for the local police in Tanbu, an impoverished rural region 250 miles north-east of Hong Kong, denied that the blast had been caused by fireworks, but a local government official said the authorities had received complaints about the matter from parents.  "Most probably it is because of fireworks, but a final result will come out after investigators convene," said a government spokesman in Wanzai county, where Fanglin is located in the township of Tanbu.
Ding Mingxing, whose nine-year-old son was killed, said he had rushed to the scene after the blast blew out the windows of his home 100 metres away.  "As soon as I heard a cry, I went toward it. When I saw a leg or an arm sticking out, I went after it. I rescued four kids, three boys and a girl, but I couldn't find my son," Mr Ding said.
A doctor at Tanbu township hospital who arrived at the scene within minutes said pupils aged eight and nine had been putting fuses into fireworks at the time of the blast.
Villagers said the fireworks business was set up by the headteacher with the help of the village's Communist party secretary. They said Wanzai was a haven for legal and illegal fireworks factories where accidents were common.
"They began forcing students to do this two to three years ago. Teachers gave responsibility to the kids to make fireworks during their lunch hour. The school wanted to make money," said Ding Haigen.
"They didn't pay the kids anything. The parents complained many times to the school and the township government, but nothing happened."
Starved of central government cash, many schools in China's impoverished rural regions are desperate to find other funding to keep schools open.
Besides assembling toys and producing small handicrafts, students in rural China have been known to work in mines and other labour intensive activity, according to human rights groups and officials.
Fireworks have caused a series of disasters in China in recent years. In March 2000, an explosion at a huge illegal firework factory killed 33 people in Jiangxi province - 60 miles west of Wanzai county.
In August, another explosion of firework ingredients stored illegally in an apartment killed 21 people, also in Jiangxi.
A blast in the southern province of Guangdong last June killed 38.

This is Essex   26 February 2001: Colchester: Coconut blast rocks windows
Youngsters packed a coconut full of explosives and blew it up in a residential street in Colchester.
The windows of surrounding houses were rocked by the explosion at 10.22 pm on Wednesday - just yards away from married quarters at Colchester Garrison.
All that was left of the device was a charred piece of grass in Constable Court, off Iceni Way, Colchester, and shattered pieces of coconut husk.
Det Sgt Roger Napier, of Colchester police, said: "We had reports of a large explosion which turned out to be an exploding coconut. Fortunately no serious damage was done.
"Someone decided to make their own larger firework and no doubt decanted the contents of smaller fireworks into a coconut and set it off."
The blast came on the same night that a 14-year-old Army cadet lost his hand in a mystery explosion at a TA base in west London.
Det Sgt Napier said the exploding coconut had a very serious side and could easily have maimed someone.
"There are quite a few instances of young lads experimenting with fireworks of this kind and suffering the ultimate consequences of losing a limb," he said.
"It is also an offence to cause explosions like this."
Staff at Royal Mail, Eastgates, Colchester, called in the bomb squad at 2.45 am today (Thursday) when they discovered a suspect package which had a reference to animal products on it.
Colchester-based bomb disposal experts satisfied themselves it was not an explosive device and opened it to find specimen jars filled with bird droppings.

The Journal Section 10 February 2001  Man arrested for fireworks depot fire 
Netherlands: Dutch police have arrested a man suspected of an arson attack on a fireworks warehouse which killed 20 people last year.  The 33-year-old man from Enschede was detained on January 26. But law enforcement authorities announced the arrest yesterday, saying that the allegations were serious enough to prolong his detention for 30 days.  Two men and a woman, all in their 30s, were also arrested, but have been released.  When firefighters arrived at the Enschede fireworks depot, small blazes had started near a series of storage bunkers. Several powerful explosions then flattened the entire neighbourhood and injured nearly 1,000 people.  Authorities have said the reconstruction of destroyed homes, shops and businesses will cost £150m.

This is Buckinghamshire   1 February 2001: Residents plagued by fireworks
A HOMEOWNER who has been plagued by firework attacks at his home has spoken out about the harassment residents are suffering at the hands of the perpetrators.
The man from Chapel Lane, High Wycombe, who did not wish to be named, has had fireworks thrown at his home four times already this year.
They are being thrown from a footpath behind the house and into his garden, a distance of about 80 feet.
He said: "It has been quite serious. They have been strapping coach belts to the fireworks to give them extra projection. Residents have been experiencing harassment and I don't know who's doing it.
"Next door has had some and next door but one keep quite a lot of animals and these fireworks have been disturbing the animals.
"It is quite frightening. I don't think it is kids. If it is they are strong kids to throw them as far as they are throwing them."
Anyone with any information should contact PC Beverley Pearse at High Wycombe police on (01494) 465888.

This is Essex      7 January 2001: Benfleet: Anger over mystery blaze
The owner of two flats whose occupants had to escape through first floor windows when their front door was set on fire, has claimed police were not doing enough to bring the culprits to book.
The blaze broke out in the entrance hall to the flats in High Road, Benfleet, in October and at the time officers believed youngsters playing with fireworks had started the blaze.
However, Graham Hyde, who built and owns the first floor flats and a downstairs shop, said he believed the blaze was started maliciously because the front door had been blocked by a large plastic plant container.
He said: "People's lives were put at risk because of this. The two people in the flats upstairs had to escape through windows helped by the fire brigade because they couldn't get out through the door.
"This wasn't just kids being silly and messing around. This was something far more sinister and I honestly believe someone was out to cause serious harm."
However, police said investigations had been carried out but the culprit was never found.
Fire crews were alerted to the blaze at the flats close to the petrol station in the main shopping area of High Road at about 9.20 pm on October 26.
Both men escaped unharmed but suffered severe shock after they found the doorway and the stairs choked with smoke.
Mr Hyde, 54, of Marine Approach in Canvey, said apart from receiving a call from police at the time he has heard nothing since.
Insp Paul Everett, of Benfleet police, said: "Following an investigation by both the police scenes of crime and fire investigators, it was concluded the cause of the fire was, in all probability, a firework.
"An investigation was carried out by the CID but there was nothing that led to the identification of the person or persons responsible."

This is Worcestershire 2 January 2001: Firework fanatic keeps pledge
A FIREWORK fiend who promised to give his neighbours a quiet start to 2001 kept his word.   Past and present neighbours of Paul Read have made a number of complaints to Worcester City Council's environmental health department about the father-of-two's obsession with explosives.  When he lived in Bransford Road, St John's, residents claimed he crept into their gardens to indulge his love of pyrotechnics at all hours of the day and night.  And he gave them a Christmas to remember when he set off a 25 Air Bomb Repeater on December 25, 1999 - claiming he was aiming at Santa for being late with his presents.
He moved to Arrowsmith Avenue, St John's, around eight months ago, and one of his new neighbours, 68-year-old Bill Toorish, said he was "sick to death" of the bangs.   "He has let off fireworks day and night since he moved in," said Mr Toorish.  He marked Christmas Day 2000 with a 3am explosion.  But he stuck to his word not to let off any fireworks on New Year's Eve.  "It was quiet on the firework front," said Mr Toorish.  But neighbours remain unconvinced that Mr Read will continue to give them peace.
"We'll have to wait and see, but I don't think it's likely," added Mr Toorish.  The environmental health department has confirmed complaints have been made, while the firework lover - who runs Ultimate Block Paving - says he will be a quieter neighbour.

This is York 2 January 2001: Firework menace
Along with many friends and relatives, I heartily agree with D Fenton's letter (December 27) regarding the indiscriminate and prolonged period of fireworks mania. Pets do suffer dreadfully when fireworks are let off - their hearing is so much better than ours.
Apart from becoming demented at the time, even in their owners' company, there can be long term effects on their demeanour and behaviour.  Once a year on Bonfire Night it is a tradition, which if were regulated as part of our history and careful pet owners make provision for such occasions.  In the run up to Christmas shops offered New Year fireworks for sale. I suppose the damp squib of November 5 left supplies on their hands. Drunken revellers are no more responsible in their behaviour than delinquent youths. It is time to control indiscriminate explosions.  Mrs D F J.  York.