THE “minority” of people who make the Bonfire season a misery for many in Bradford have been urged to “grow up” and told that they “are not gangsters.”

At a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday members voted to take a tougher stance against anti-social firework use.

As part of this, the Council and West Yorkshire Police could write to wedding venues across the District to remind them of their responsibilities to prevent guests from setting off fireworks illegally.

With the Bonfire season fast approaching, the Council voted on two motions aimed at tackling the firework nuisance that blights the District each year.

But one Councillor questioned how any new clampdown would be policed.

One motion was brought by Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, leader of the Lib Dems. She called for more “silent” fireworks displays and more organised displays in Bradford’s parks.

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She detailed some of the issues caused by anti-social firework abuse, and said she recently saw a group of teens throwing fireworks on a garage forecourt. She added: “I’m not sure what school they went to, but they obviously had no understanding of what happens when you mix gunpowder and petrol.

“I’m not trying to ban fireworks, I just want to investigate how we can reduce the loud bangs.”

She revealed she had received a number of “abusive” emails after she first put forwards proposals to regulate fireworks in the district.

Councillor Aneela Ahmed (Lab, City) works for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and sees Bonfire night carnage first hand. Often emergency services are attacked on and around Bonfire night.

She said: "When November 5 comes it brings out a sort of dread - what will we be dealing with this year?

"We're working with emergency services to prevent another Bonfire Night 2018 happening again.

"People are fed up of the minority spoiling it for the majority. We want to urge people who think it is just a bit of fun to grow up and act more responsibly.

"If you try to harm an emergency service worker, you harm all of us. It is someone's mother, brother or sister.

"Doing this doesn't make you look like a gangster - it makes you look stupid.

"Parents need to take responsibility for their children - many need to get their head out of the sand. As yourself, where are your children going late at night? Control them before they kill someone or themselves."

She said the Council would be sending letters in conjunction with police to wedding halls around Bradford to make sure guests did not use fireworks in an anti social manner.

The motion put forward by Labour called for a review of fireworks in the district. Councillor Mike Pollard (Cons, Baildon) pointed out that it was already illegal to set off fireworks after 11pm, and to sell fireworks to youths. He added: "If there is any new by-law, who realistically is going to enforce it? If someone reports a firework going off at 1am I don't think police will be prioritising sending a team to deal with it, and we won't have any wardens working then."

Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: "Fireworks are a major issue for a lot of our residents - messages about them come into our inboxes on a regular basis.

"We are doing the best we can with what we have, but I believe we can always do more. We need to look at the issue and make sure we're doing all we can so people can have a good night's sleep."

Both motions were passed by the Council.