We need firework control laws that go with a bang - not a whimper - Stephen Jardine

Imagine fireworks had never been invented. Then let’s settle down and watch a new episode of Dragon’s Den on TV. Two people walk into the room to present their idea to potential investors. One has singed eyebrows, the other keeps his left hand in his pocket to hide two missing fingers.

They are looking for investment for a new product which puts explosives into the hands of the general public under brand names like Jaw Breaker and Bomb Bastic. But before they can make their pitch, they have a problem. The millionaire Dragons have all fled the room and no wonder because they realise just how insane the idea is.

This year fireworks are supposed to be subject to more stringent regulation. It is now illegal to set off fireworks before 6pm or after 11pm and new rules introduced in the summer

create control zones where they are banned and anyone who ignores that faces a fine or imprisonment. Try telling that to the people who’ve been letting them off at football

Rangers fans light up the Bob Shankly stand with pyrotechnics during a cinch Premiership match between Dundee FC and Rangers at The Scot Foam Stadium at Dens Park on Wednesday. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

grounds in recent weeks.

Thirty years ago low intensity fireworks bought from Woolworths were being let off in back gardens all over the country with barely a fizzle. Since then specialist retailers have cornered the market and the fireworks have become noisier and more powerful. Animals that would have barely registered a puny Catherine Wheel now cower from giant rockets slamming into the sky with a bang you can hear all around.

No politician wants to be called a killjoy but that means regulation has not kept pace with firework technology. As the products have got louder and more intense, proposals to tackle that have limped through consultations and draft legislation. Finally we do now have additional restrictions but the big issue is enforcement.

The anti-social use of fireworks is not down to that nice family at the end of the street.

Instead it’s caused by people why aren’t remotely bothered by regulations and the idea that the police will be able to catch someone letting off fireworks at 11.15pm on the edge of a control zone would be funny if it wasn’t so ridiculous. Attempts to intervene usually result in firecrews being attacked and police officers having to don riot gear as in Dundee this week.

Lets see what difference the new regulations make because the fireworks industry really is in the last chance saloon. If injuries and anti-social incidents continue then we need to revisit this issue again.

The obvious answer is to ban them. Instead of selling to the public, restrict fireworks to people who have a special pyrotechnic licence for events. That’s what they’ve done in

Australia where they have the best organised display in the world in Sydney on New Year’s Eve but illegal possession by an individual carries a £25,000 fine.

And if the fear and trouble caused by fireworks isn’t enough to drive further change then maybe environmental considerations will be. With a net zero emissions target of 2045 there is no better time to be further restricting something that creates chemical pollution in our air and on the ground below.

Fireworks belong in the hands of licensed professionals and not recognising that means the issues we face at this time of year will just go on and on