A petition to ban back-garden fireworks displays gained 168,000 signatures earlier this year — so you may not be the most popular person in your street if you let off rockets and bangers in your garden this Bonfire Night. Last year, 184 people were admitted to hospital for fireworks injuries, the highest number in more than a decade, according to NHS statistics released earlier this month. Worryingly, last year also saw the highest number of hospital admissions for children under 15 with fireworks injuries over the same period. “Fireworks are not toys and should never be used as missiles,” says Sheila Merrill, public health adviser at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa). “They are explosives that can seriously injure people and leave…

Source: The Times October 28, 2017 23:09 UTC