Police chief wants firework sales banned ahead of Bonfire Night

The chief constable of Greater Manchester Police wants displays restricted to the professionals

Fears over anti-social behaviour have prompted one of the country's top police chiefs to call for an outright ban on the sale of fireworks in the United Kingdom. It is already illegal to set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, except on certain occasions, with Bonfire Night, Halloween and Diwali all major events for celebrating by letting off the colourful explosives. Principally, the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Ian Hopkins, believes there is a sizeable threat to communities being 'terrorised' by young people armed with fireworks. Mr Hopkins compared how the purchase of fireworks, already restricted to those over the age of 18, can mirror the legislation related to knives and dangerous weapons. "We cannot go and purchase a weapon, the sale of knives is being restricted," he stated. "The time has come to do the same around fireworks." Police and emergency services have complained of facing a much higher workload on nights where fireworks are being set off, and the chief constable, who is determined not to be seen as a 'party pooper', hopes to put an end to amateur displays. "We need to restrict the sales to young people who think it is acceptable to go around and terrorise communities," Mr Hopkins told BBC Radio Manchester. "The answer cannot be that more firefighters and more police officers turn up to deal with this and people are scared to go out of their homes." Every year, over £40 million is spent on fireworks by Brits in the run-up to Bonfire Night.