A group of men turned the beach below Swansea’s promenade into their own fireworks display on Bonfire Night, with some firing rockets straight out of their hands.
Video shot from the prom by Hayley Price shows the group lighting fireworks in a line on the sand, a few steps from the wall.
At least two of them hold lit rockets above their heads as they go off. Others crouch over boxes on the beach to light the next round.
Groups of onlookers, some with children, stand on the sand close to where the fireworks are being launched, and smoke rolls over them as the barrage goes up.
At one point a firework is fired sideways out of a man’s hand, low across the beach, beside a group of people. Someone can be heard telling people to “duck down”.
The clip runs for more than five minutes. It has been shared widely, and many of those commenting on it are calling for fireworks to be taken off sale to the public.
98 per cent of Swansea Bay News readers want fireworks kept to organised displays
It is the same thing nearly 1,900 readers told us in our poll last week. Asked whether fireworks should be kept for organised displays and taken out of the shops, 1,867 said yes.
Thirty-one wanted them kept on sale with the existing rules properly enforced.
The law as it stands lets any adult buy fireworks from 15 October to 10 November and set them off until 11pm, or midnight on Bonfire Night.
Breaking the curfew can mean a £90 on-the-spot fine, according to Senedd research, and enforcement falls to the police and the council.
Westminster has said it has no plans to ban sales to the public. Its consultation on cutting the noise limit for shop-bought fireworks from 120 to 110 decibels closed on 7 October, and it has yet to say what it will do.
Fire crews’ heaviest night, and the case for organised displays
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service says Bonfire Night traditionally has a heavy impact on its crews and partner agencies.
Swansea Council ran its own organised display the same night. It was at Singleton Park for the first time, after decades at St Helen’s.
Council leader Cllr Rob Stewart said when the move was announced that families could “enjoy Bonfire Night safely, leaving the fireworks to the professionals”.
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