THE scourge of late night fireworks which plagues the city during the summer months and in the lead up to Bonfire Night is being discussed at a Bradford East Area Committee meeting and may become a campaign in order to have the rules enforced.

In August last year the T&A highlighted the distress the antisocial use of fireworks after the 11pm watershed caused residents and pets in the district.

Bolton Road resident Jon Gittus has said he was so disturbed by the late night explosives that he contemplated moving home.

He complained to the police and council and got in touch with local ward councillors.

He said: "Summer 2017 was the first full summer my partner and I spent in our new home off Bolton Road and unfortunately included repeated conversations about having to leave the area, despite the hard work we had invested in renovating our house.

"The overall worry being that the fireworks were that invasive to our life that my mental health was beginning to suffer as a result."

An accompanying poll on our story in August revealed that of the 4,483 people who voted, 83 per cent said they were disturbed by late night fireworks.

He said their being set off outside the times permitted under UK law was causing "widespread misery" for residents and that people felt powerless in trying to ring an end to the problem.

Councillor Brendan Stubbs (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) responded to Mr Gittus' request for help by alerting the problem to council officers.

"I have asked for a report to be brought to the next Bradford East Area Committee of which I am a member.

"I want contributions from trading standards, the police and the fire service so we can look at ways of tackling this. There are already regulations in place but they are not enforced.

"I responded straight away to Mr Gittus and have also had complaints from other residents in the area who have been disturbed by fireworks.

"The weeks leading up the local elections meant there was no opportunity to bring the matter forward so it will be the next area committee meeting when it can be brought up.

"A new chair will be elected and we will take it from there. I am very keen to get something done about it and have even thought about starting some sort of campaign which the T&A may be able to help with."

Cllr Stubbs said there were lots of questions to answer, such as where the fireworks are being bought from.

He said one registered seller in Bradford suggested getting laws passed so that single fireworks are bar coded - as the boxes currently are - so that there is a way of tracking where they are sold.

Cllr Stubbs said rules do exist around licensing of fireworks and setting them off and enforcing them may require changes in the way the council works.

He said he would push them to make looking for a solution to the fireworks problem a priority and have a motion taken to full council for rubber stamping.

"It has been quiet lately. I have now moved to Thackley and I don't hear as many now, but when I lived in Thorpe Edge I heard them regularly."

There was a huge number of comments made in the T&A's story last year with all areas of Bradford being affected by the noise of the explosives at unsociable hours.

He said he hoped a full report would be prepared for an area committee meeting in September as there was no meeting in August.