Dangerous Fireworks Seller back on Bury New Road
I was very disappointed to learn that the fireworks portakabin that we fought so hard to get rid of last year has returned this year to Bury New Road.
It seemed last year that it was perfectly legal for any fly-by-night operator to set up temporary shop in the middle of the pavement selling explosives. Unless he was caught completely blocking the road or selling to kids, he was fine. I don’t know how this has managed to happen again, as I thought the licencing authority would have remembered last year’s furore and not granted a licence again. Hopefully they haven’t, and a simple check will reveal illegal acvtivity and have this thing shut down. If not, I have already informed the Police, Trading Standards and Highways so that they will be paying the shop a visit to check that there are no breaches.
I am no killjoy when it comes to bonfire night. I love it, and am frankly gutted that I;ll miss it this year for a Council meeting! But there are many reputable fireworks sellers in the area who are familiar to local people and who are also familiar with local people. These are where fireworks should be sold, so that they don’t end up in the hands of kids or in dangerous situations. These are lethal explosives and should be treated with respect, not flogged out of the back of a portakabin in the middle of the street.
I hope we manage to get rid of this menace once and for all this year, and I am annoyed that we have to go through this again. In the meantime I appeal to the Authorities to do all they can to stop this, and I appeal to local people not to use this shop and to buy safe fireworks from a reputable source.
Rick
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too right - we had a story on BBC Radio Ulster this morning of a 10 year old lad in Belfast who has lost 4 fingers on one hand, and faces losing his hand altogether as a result of a firework accident at the weekend
Fhere is a worse porta cabin when you turn into Middleton Road at halfway house. That one is by a petrol station, They should all be banned
Some very good points Richard. It’s beyond belief that the portacabin is legal for the sale of fireworks. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it last year, my heat nearly fell out of my mouth thinking ’surely that can’t be legal, is this how low Prestwich has sunk’.
Thanks Ian - I don’t think it’s about Prestwich sinking low. To be honest I think it’s probably a sign of affluence that people wan to come and do business here! And there are these portakabins in lots of places around town.
But that’s not the point. I have heard back from a lot of people about this, including the Fire Service, who tell me that this is legal and that in fact the portakabins are preferred to shops for firework storage due to safety.
But I don’t think that’s the point either. For me, this is about the terrible message these portakabins send to local people, who see strangers set up shop on the pavement for just a few weeks, clearly more interested in making money than in becoming part of a responsible community. The Fire Service granting these licences seem to contradict their own laudable efforts to create a safe environment at this time of year. Fireworks should be sold only from reputable retailers who are known in the community. I don’t know if the Fire Service are hamstrung by the law in what criteria they can use to block licences, but if so then I think the law needs to be looked at to make it more responsive to community wishes.