§ Mr. John Heppell (Nottingham, East)I beg leave to introduce a petition from 20,910 people in Greater Nottingham. The petition was started by a woman whose dog was killed but, within a week of the petition being started, a young man in my constituency, Dale Mitchell, had died as a result of the misuse of fireworks. The petition calls on the House of Commons to instruct the Department of Trade and Industry to tighten up on firework legislation.
The petition on firework legislation to the House of Commons, the petition of the following signatories, declares that the existing firework legislation is inadequate and is a danger to public safety. Numerous incidents have occurred where fireworks have been thrown at members of the public or otherwise misused, on occasion leading to the death of or injury to people and animals. The petitioners request that the House of Commons instructs the Department of Trade and Industry to tighten up firework legislation. In particular, we call upon the Secretary of State to introduce a licensing system for the sale and display of fireworks so that only organised groupings who have ensured the health and safety of the public may purchase and use fireworks.To lie upon the Table.