Furore over late night firework display at hotel

The noise from the rockets unleashed at The Craiglands Hotel in Crossbeck Road on Saturday night was so loud it woke people living more than a mile away.

The hotel, which was hosting a corporate charity ball for Bradford firm Coral Windows, has been fielding outraged complaints ever since.

As a fund-raising event the evening was a runaway success, with more than £10,000 generated for Breast Cancer Awareness and the Bradford Can... Cancer Research App-eal.

But its firework finale, put on by a professional display team, was a public relations disaster - and according to one local householder sounded 'like the start of World War Three'.

The backlash has seen a flood of complaints being directed at both Coral Windows and the Craiglands.

Sarah Bailey, from Wheatley Road, Ilkley, was rudely awakened in the first minute of Sunday morning.

She said: "I'd gone to sleep, because I was getting up at quarter to six, when I was woken by the first explosion and I had to drive my son all the way to London on Sunday after being woken up by these fireworks.

"I didn't know what they were at the time and they were so loud my heart was racing for ages afterwards.

"They do let off fireworks after weddings in the summer at around 10pm or 10.30pm and it doesn't bother me, but this was at midnight and every single one was like a bomb.

"I've never heard anything like it. They said they'd notified people but I certainly didn't have a letter.

"I've complained to the hotel and to the parish council because this has got to stop."

Owen Wells, from Eaton Road, Ilkley, said: "What a way for a charity ball to get bad publicity!

"My wife and I were just nodding off to sleep when we were woken up and if we were woken then half the population as far as Ben Rhydding will have been woken.

"What I thought was particularly insensitive was the timing. If fireworks are let off at 7pm or 8pm then it's dark enough and they don't inconvenience anybody.

"At 9am or 10am it starts to get annoying, but when it gets to midnight it's a liberty. As a parole officer I am used to irresponsible and anti-social behaviour and that is what this was."

Others woken by the display included Ilkley Parish Council's deputy chairman councillor Heathcliffe Bowen, who lives more than a mile away in the 'West End' of Ilkley.

He said: "They were very loud. My first thought was how people living nearby were coping with it, especially those with young children or pets."

Coral Windows and the hotel say they liaised with the police beforehand, but Ilkley Police Sergeant Esther Hobbs thinks wires must have got crossed.

She said: "I'm as disgusted as the residents are that people think they can have their enjoyment at the expense of everybody else.

"I had spoken to the manager of the hotel and I said I thought midnight was too late. But then it seems they have spoken to another sergeant at another station who supposedly has said 'yes, have it at that time'.

"This is an issue all over, not just in Ilkley and not just this hotel, because fireworks are available throughout the year now and it is the 'in' way of having a finale to a party.

"This was raised at the parish council two months ago when they said they would be looking at introducing by-laws for limiting what time fireworks can be let off.

"In a case like this such a by-law would certainly be enforceable."

Coral Windows' sales and marketing manager Julie Hodgson was inspired to organise the fund-raising party after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: "On behalf of Coral Windows I would like to apologise to the Ilkley residents for not, in hindsight, having the display earlier.

"It was planned for 12am and we had notified the local residents, by sending out a mailshot, and talked to the police.

"I didn't expect people to complain big time, although I thought there might be a few who would.

"It was the first charity ball we have done and it was a brilliant night at a fantastic hotel which did raise a lot of money for charity.

"But hindsight is a great thing and if we do it again next year we will have the fireworks earlier."

The manager of the Craiglands, Ivan Lynch, said he would also do things differently if there was a 'next time'.

He said: "I've been inundated with complaints and even had some residents screaming at me because the firework display was too loud and too late.

"Coral Windows had said they would like a firework display, which was fine, and we received a letter Mrs Hodgson had got from the police at Keighley saying they had no objection to a planned display at midnight on Saturday.

"I also printed 60 copies of a letter and posted them to the residents as a polite notice that it was going to happen, so we thought we'd done as much as we could.

"Personally I wasn't aware of the enormity of the display, it was quite a bit bigger than I expected. Probably, as Julie has said, it should have been earlier.

"If Coral Windows were looking to hold another charity event here we would look forward to that but we would Furious Ilkley residents are demanding action after a massive midnight firework display shattered the sleep of people across the town.

The noise from the rockets unleashed at The Craiglands Hotel in Crossbeck Road on Saturday night was so loud it woke people living more than a mile away.

The hotel, which was hosting a corporate charity ball for Bradford firm Coral Windows, has been fielding outraged complaints ever since.

As a fund-raising event the evening was a runaway success, with more than £10,000 generated for Breast Cancer Awareness and the Bradford Can... Cancer Research App-eal.

But its firework finale, put on by a professional display team, was a public relations disaster - and according to one local householder sounded 'like the start of World War Three'.

The backlash has seen a flood of complaints being directed at both Coral Windows and the Craiglands.

Sarah Bailey, from Wheatley Road, Ilkley, was rudely awakened in the first minute of Sunday morning.

She said: "I'd gone to sleep, because I was getting up at quarter to six, when I was woken by the first explosion and I had to drive my son all the way to London on Sunday after being woken up by these fireworks.

"I didn't know what they were at the time and they were so loud my heart was racing for ages afterwards.

"They do let off fireworks after weddings in the summer at around 10pm or 10.30pm and it doesn't bother me, but this was at midnight and every single one was like a bomb.

"I've never heard anything like it. They said they'd notified people but I certainly didn't have a letter.

"I've complained to the hotel and to the parish council because this has got to stop."

Owen Wells, from Eaton Road, Ilkley, said: "What a way for a charity ball to get bad publicity!

"My wife and I were just nodding off to sleep when we were woken up and if we were woken then half the population as far as Ben Rhydding will have been woken.

"What I thought was particularly insensitive was the timing. If fireworks are let off at 7pm or 8pm then it's dark enough and they don't inconvenience anybody.

"At 9am or 10am it starts to get annoying, but when it gets to midnight it's a liberty. As a parole officer I am used to irresponsible and anti-social behaviour and that is what this was."

Others woken by the display included Ilkley Parish Council's deputy chairman councillor Heathcliffe Bowen, who lives more than a mile away in the 'West End' of Ilkley.

He said: "They were very loud. My first thought was how people living nearby were coping with it, especially those with young children or pets."

Coral Windows and the hotel say they liaised with the police beforehand, but Ilkley Police Sergeant Esther Hobbs thinks wires must have got crossed.

She said: "I'm as disgusted as the residents are that people think they can have their enjoyment at the expense of everybody else.

"I had spoken to the manager of the hotel and I said I thought midnight was too late. But then it seems they have spoken to another sergeant at another station who supposedly has said 'yes, have it at that time'.

"This is an issue all over, not just in Ilkley and not just this hotel, because fireworks are available throughout the year now and it is the 'in' way of having a finale to a party.

"This was raised at the parish council two months ago when they said they would be looking at introducing by-laws for limiting what time fireworks can be let off.

"In a case like this such a by-law would certainly be enforceable."

Coral Windows' sales and marketing manager Julie Hodgson was inspired to organise the fund-raising party after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: "On behalf of Coral Windows I would like to apologise to the Ilkley residents for not, in hindsight, having the display earlier.

"It was planned for 12am and we had notified the local residents, by sending out a mailshot, and talked to the police.

"I didn't expect people to complain big time, although I thought there might be a few who would.

"It was the first charity ball we have done and it was a brilliant night at a fantastic hotel which did raise a lot of money for charity.

"But hindsight is a great thing and if we do it again next year we will have the fireworks earlier."

The manager of the Craiglands, Ivan Lynch, said he would also do things differently if there was a 'next time'.

He said: "I've been inundated with complaints and even had some residents screaming at me because the firework display was too loud and too late.

"Coral Windows had said they would like a firework display, which was fine, and we received a letter Mrs Hodgson had got from the police at Keighley saying they had no objection to a planned display at midnight on Saturday.

"I also printed 60 copies of a letter and posted them to the residents as a polite notice that it was going to happen, so we thought we'd done as much as we could.

"Personally I wasn't aware of the enormity of the display, it was quite a bit bigger than I expected. Probably, as Julie has said, it should have been earlier.

"If Coral Windows were looking to hold another charity event here we would look forward to that but we would Furious Ilkley residents are demanding action after a massive midnight firework display shattered the sleep of people across the town.

The noise from the rockets unleashed at The Craiglands Hotel in Crossbeck Road on Saturday night was so loud it woke people living more than a mile away.

The hotel, which was hosting a corporate charity ball for Bradford firm Coral Windows, has been fielding outraged complaints ever since.

As a fund-raising event the evening was a runaway success, with more than £10,000 generated for Breast Cancer Awareness and the Bradford Can... Cancer Research App-eal.

But its firework finale, put on by a professional display team, was a public relations disaster - and according to one local householder sounded 'like the start of World War Three'.

The backlash has seen a flood of complaints being directed at both Coral Windows and the Craiglands.

Sarah Bailey, from Wheatley Road, Ilkley, was rudely awakened in the first minute of Sunday morning.

She said: "I'd gone to sleep, because I was getting up at quarter to six, when I was woken by the first explosion and I had to drive my son all the way to London on Sunday after being woken up by these fireworks.

"I didn't know what they were at the time and they were so loud my heart was racing for ages afterwards.

"They do let off fireworks after weddings in the summer at around 10pm or 10.30pm and it doesn't bother me, but this was at midnight and every single one was like a bomb.

"I've never heard anything like it. They said they'd notified people but I certainly didn't have a letter.

"I've complained to the hotel and to the parish council because this has got to stop."

Owen Wells, from Eaton Road, Ilkley, said: "What a way for a charity ball to get bad publicity!

"My wife and I were just nodding off to sleep when we were woken up and if we were woken then half the population as far as Ben Rhydding will have been woken.

"What I thought was particularly insensitive was the timing. If fireworks are let off at 7pm or 8pm then it's dark enough and they don't inconvenience anybody.

"At 9am or 10am it starts to get annoying, but when it gets to midnight it's a liberty. As a parole officer I am used to irresponsible and anti-social behaviour and that is what this was."

Others woken by the display included Ilkley Parish Council's deputy chairman councillor Heathcliffe Bowen, who lives more than a mile away in the 'West End' of Ilkley.

He said: "They were very loud. My first thought was how people living nearby were coping with it, especially those with young children or pets."

Coral Windows and the hotel say they liaised with the police beforehand, but Ilkley Police Sergeant Esther Hobbs thinks wires must have got crossed.

She said: "I'm as disgusted as the residents are that people think they can have their enjoyment at the expense of everybody else.

"I had spoken to the manager of the hotel and I said I thought midnight was too late. But then it seems they have spoken to another sergeant at another station who supposedly has said 'yes, have it at that time'.

"This is an issue all over, not just in Ilkley and not just this hotel, because fireworks are available throughout the year now and it is the 'in' way of having a finale to a party.

"This was raised at the parish council two months ago when they said they would be looking at introducing by-laws for limiting what time fireworks can be let off.

"In a case like this such a by-law would certainly be enforceable."

Coral Windows' sales and marketing manager Julie Hodgson was inspired to organise the fund-raising party after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: "On behalf of Coral Windows I would like to apologise to the Ilkley residents for not, in hindsight, having the display earlier.

"It was planned for 12am and we had notified the local residents, by sending out a mailshot, and talked to the police.

"I didn't expect people to complain big time, although I thought there might be a few who would.

"It was the first charity ball we have done and it was a brilliant night at a fantastic hotel which did raise a lot of money for charity.

"But hindsight is a great thing and if we do it again next year we will have the fireworks earlier."

The manager of the Craiglands, Ivan Lynch, said he would also do things differently if there was a 'next time'.

He said: "I've been inundated with complaints and even had some residents screaming at me because the firework display was too loud and too late.

"Coral Windows had said they would like a firework display, which was fine, and we received a letter Mrs Hodgson had got from the police at Keighley saying they had no objection to a planned display at midnight on Saturday.

"I also printed 60 copies of a letter and posted them to the residents as a polite notice that it was going to happen, so we thought we'd done as much as we could.

"Personally I wasn't aware of the enormity of the display, it was quite a bit bigger than I expected. Probably, as Julie has said, it should have been earlier.

"If Coral Windows were looking to hold another charity event here we would look forward to that but we would Furious Ilkley residents are demanding action after a massive midnight firework display shattered the sleep of people across the town.

The noise from the rockets unleashed at The Craiglands Hotel in Crossbeck Road on Saturday night was so loud it woke people living more than a mile away.

The hotel, which was hosting a corporate charity ball for Bradford firm Coral Windows, has been fielding outraged complaints ever since.

As a fund-raising event the evening was a runaway success, with more than £10,000 generated for Breast Cancer Awareness and the Bradford Can... Cancer Research App-eal.

But its firework finale, put on by a professional display team, was a public relations disaster - and according to one local householder sounded 'like the start of World War Three'.

The backlash has seen a flood of complaints being directed at both Coral Windows and the Craiglands.

Sarah Bailey, from Wheatley Road, Ilkley, was rudely awakened in the first minute of Sunday morning.

She said: "I'd gone to sleep, because I was getting up at quarter to six, when I was woken by the first explosion and I had to drive my son all the way to London on Sunday after being woken up by these fireworks.

"I didn't know what they were at the time and they were so loud my heart was racing for ages afterwards.

"They do let off fireworks after weddings in the summer at around 10pm or 10.30pm and it doesn't bother me, but this was at midnight and every single one was like a bomb.

"I've never heard anything like it. They said they'd notified people but I certainly didn't have a letter.

"I've complained to the hotel and to the parish council because this has got to stop."

Owen Wells, from Eaton Road, Ilkley, said: "What a way for a charity ball to get bad publicity!

"My wife and I were just nodding off to sleep when we were woken up and if we were woken then half the population as far as Ben Rhydding will have been woken.

"What I thought was particularly insensitive was the timing. If fireworks are let off at 7pm or 8pm then it's dark enough and they don't inconvenience anybody.

"At 9am or 10am it starts to get annoying, but when it gets to midnight it's a liberty. As a parole officer I am used to irresponsible and anti-social behaviour and that is what this was."

Others woken by the display included Ilkley Parish Council's deputy chairman councillor Heathcliffe Bowen, who lives more than a mile away in the 'West End' of Ilkley.

He said: "They were very loud. My first thought was how people living nearby were coping with it, especially those with young children or pets."

Coral Windows and the hotel say they liaised with the police beforehand, but Ilkley Police Sergeant Esther Hobbs thinks wires must have got crossed.

She said: "I'm as disgusted as the residents are that people think they can have their enjoyment at the expense of everybody else.

"I had spoken to the manager of the hotel and I said I thought midnight was too late. But then it seems they have spoken to another sergeant at another station who supposedly has said 'yes, have it at that time'.

"This is an issue all over, not just in Ilkley and not just this hotel, because fireworks are available throughout the year now and it is the 'in' way of having a finale to a party.

"This was raised at the parish council two months ago when they said they would be looking at introducing by-laws for limiting what time fireworks can be let off.

"In a case like this such a by-law would certainly be enforceable."

Coral Windows' sales and marketing manager Julie Hodgson was inspired to organise the fund-raising party after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: "On behalf of Coral Windows I would like to apologise to the Ilkley residents for not, in hindsight, having the display earlier.

"It was planned for 12am and we had notified the local residents, by sending out a mailshot, and talked to the police.

"I didn't expect people to complain big time, although I thought there might be a few who would.

"It was the first charity ball we have done and it was a brilliant night at a fantastic hotel which did raise a lot of money for charity.

"But hindsight is a great thing and if we do it again next year we will have the fireworks earlier."

The manager of the Craiglands, Ivan Lynch, said he would also do things differently if there was a 'next time'.

He said: "I've been inundated with complaints and even had some residents screaming at me because the firework display was too loud and too late.

"Coral Windows had said they would like a firework display, which was fine, and we received a letter Mrs Hodgson had got from the police at Keighley saying they had no objection to a planned display at midnight on Saturday.

"I also printed 60 copies of a letter and posted them to the residents as a polite notice that it was going to happen, so we thought we'd done as much as we could.

"Personally I wasn't aware of the enormity of the display, it was quite a bit bigger than I expected. Probably, as Julie has said, it should have been earlier.

"If Coral Windows were looking to hold another charity event here we would look forward to that but we would Furious Ilkley residents are demanding action after a massive midnight firework display shattered the sleep of people across the town.

The noise from the rockets unleashed at The Craiglands Hotel in Crossbeck Road on Saturday night was so loud it woke people living more than a mile away.

The hotel, which was hosting a corporate charity ball for Bradford firm Coral Windows, has been fielding outraged complaints ever since.

As a fund-raising event the evening was a runaway success, with more than £10,000 generated for Breast Cancer Awareness and the Bradford Can... Cancer Research App-eal.

But its firework finale, put on by a professional display team, was a public relations disaster - and according to one local householder sounded 'like the start of World War Three'.

The backlash has seen a flood of complaints being directed at both Coral Windows and the Craiglands.

Sarah Bailey, from Wheatley Road, Ilkley, was rudely awakened in the first minute of Sunday morning.

She said: "I'd gone to sleep, because I was getting up at quarter to six, when I was woken by the first explosion and I had to drive my son all the way to London on Sunday after being woken up by these fireworks.

"I didn't know what they were at the time and they were so loud my heart was racing for ages afterwards.

"They do let off fireworks after weddings in the summer at around 10pm or 10.30pm and it doesn't bother me, but this was at midnight and every single one was like a bomb.

"I've never heard anything like it. They said they'd notified people but I certainly didn't have a letter.

"I've complained to the hotel and to the parish council because this has got to stop."

Owen Wells, from Eaton Road, Ilkley, said: "What a way for a charity ball to get bad publicity!

"My wife and I were just nodding off to sleep when we were woken up and if we were woken then half the population as far as Ben Rhydding will have been woken.

"What I thought was particularly insensitive was the timing. If fireworks are let off at 7pm or 8pm then it's dark enough and they don't inconvenience anybody.

"At 9am or 10am it starts to get annoying, but when it gets to midnight it's a liberty. As a parole officer I am used to irresponsible and anti-social behaviour and that is what this was."

Others woken by the display included Ilkley Parish Council's deputy chairman councillor Heathcliffe Bowen, who lives more than a mile away in the 'West End' of Ilkley.

He said: "They were very loud. My first thought was how people living nearby were coping with it, especially those with young children or pets."

Coral Windows and the hotel say they liaised with the police beforehand, but Ilkley Police Sergeant Esther Hobbs thinks wires must have got crossed.

She said: "I'm as disgusted as the residents are that people think they can have their enjoyment at the expense of everybody else.

"I had spoken to the manager of the hotel and I said I thought midnight was too late. But then it seems they have spoken to another sergeant at another station who supposedly has said 'yes, have it at that time'.

"This is an issue all over, not just in Ilkley and not just this hotel, because fireworks are available throughout the year now and it is the 'in' way of having a finale to a party.

"This was raised at the parish council two months ago when they said they would be looking at introducing by-laws for limiting what time fireworks can be let off.

"In a case like this such a by-law would certainly be enforceable."

Coral Windows' sales and marketing manager Julie Hodgson was inspired to organise the fund-raising party after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: "On behalf of Coral Windows I would like to apologise to the Ilkley residents for not, in hindsight, having the display earlier.

"It was planned for 12am and we had notified the local residents, by sending out a mailshot, and talked to the police.

"I didn't expect people to complain big time, although I thought there might be a few who would.

"It was the first charity ball we have done and it was a brilliant night at a fantastic hotel which did raise a lot of money for charity.

"But hindsight is a great thing and if we do it again next year we will have the fireworks earlier."

The manager of the Craiglands, Ivan Lynch, said he would also do things differently if there was a 'next time'.

He said: "I've been inundated with complaints and even had some residents screaming at me because the firework display was too loud and too late.

"Coral Windows had said they would like a firework display, which was fine, and we received a letter Mrs Hodgson had got from the police at Keighley saying they had no objection to a planned display at midnight on Saturday.

"I also printed 60 copies of a letter and posted them to the residents as a polite notice that it was going to happen, so we thought we'd done as much as we could.

"Personally I wasn't aware of the enormity of the display, it was quite a bit bigger than I expected. Probably, as Julie has said, it should have been earlier.

"If Coral Windows were looking to hold another charity event here we would look forward to that but we would Furious Ilkley residents are demanding action after a massive midnight firework display shattered the sleep of people across the town.

The noise from the rockets unleashed at The Craiglands Hotel in Crossbeck Road on Saturday night was so loud it woke people living more than a mile away.

The hotel, which was hosting a corporate charity ball for Bradford firm Coral Windows, has been fielding outraged complaints ever since.

As a fund-raising event the evening was a runaway success, with more than £10,000 generated for Breast Cancer Awareness and the Bradford Can... Cancer Research App-eal.

But its firework finale, put on by a professional display team, was a public relations disaster - and according to one local householder sounded 'like the start of World War Three'.

The backlash has seen a flood of complaints being directed at both Coral Windows and the Craiglands.

Sarah Bailey, from Wheatley Road, Ilkley, was rudely awakened in the first minute of Sunday morning.

She said: "I'd gone to sleep, because I was getting up at quarter to six, when I was woken by the first explosion and I had to drive my son all the way to London on Sunday after being woken up by these fireworks.

"I didn't know what they were at the time and they were so loud my heart was racing for ages afterwards.

"They do let off fireworks after weddings in the summer at around 10pm or 10.30pm and it doesn't bother me, but this was at midnight and every single one was like a bomb.

"I've never heard anything like it. They said they'd notified people but I certainly didn't have a letter.

"I've complained to the hotel and to the parish council because this has got to stop."

Owen Wells, from Eaton Road, Ilkley, said: "What a way for a charity ball to get bad publicity!

"My wife and I were just nodding off to sleep when we were woken up and if we were woken then half the population as far as Ben Rhydding will have been woken.

"What I thought was particularly insensitive was the timing. If fireworks are let off at 7pm or 8pm then it's dark enough and they don't inconvenience anybody.

"At 9am or 10am it starts to get annoying, but when it gets to midnight it's a liberty. As a parole officer I am used to irresponsible and anti-social behaviour and that is what this was."

Others woken by the display included Ilkley Parish Council's deputy chairman councillor Heathcliffe Bowen, who lives more than a mile away in the 'West End' of Ilkley.

He said: "They were very loud. My first thought was how people living nearby were coping with it, especially those with young children or pets."

Coral Windows and the hotel say they liaised with the police beforehand, but Ilkley Police Sergeant Esther Hobbs thinks wires must have got crossed.

She said: "I'm as disgusted as the residents are that people think they can have their enjoyment at the expense of everybody else.

"I had spoken to the manager of the hotel and I said I thought midnight was too late. But then it seems they have spoken to another sergeant at another station who supposedly has said 'yes, have it at that time'.

"This is an issue all over, not just in Ilkley and not just this hotel, because fireworks are available throughout the year now and it is the 'in' way of having a finale to a party.

"This was raised at the parish council two months ago when they said they would be looking at introducing by-laws for limiting what time fireworks can be let off.

"In a case like this such a by-law would certainly be enforceable."

Coral Windows' sales and marketing manager Julie Hodgson was inspired to organise the fund-raising party after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: "On behalf of Coral Windows I would like to apologise to the Ilkley residents for not, in hindsight, having the display earlier.

"It was planned for 12am and we had notified the local residents, by sending out a mailshot, and talked to the police.

"I didn't expect people to complain big time, although I thought there might be a few who would.

"It was the first charity ball we have done and it was a brilliant night at a fantastic hotel which did raise a lot of money for charity.

"But hindsight is a great thing and if we do it again next year we will have the fireworks earlier."

The manager of the Craiglands, Ivan Lynch, said he would also do things differently if there was a 'next time'.

He said: "I've been inundated with complaints and even had some residents screaming at me because the firework display was too loud and too late.

"Coral Windows had said they would like a firework display, which was fine, and we received a letter Mrs Hodgson had got from the police at Keighley saying they had no objection to a planned display at midnight on Saturday.

"I also printed 60 copies of a letter and posted them to the residents as a polite notice that it was going to happen, so we thought we'd done as much as we could.

"Personally I wasn't aware of the enormity of the display, it was quite a bit bigger than I expected. Probably, as Julie has said, it should have been earlier.