BRADFORD Imams have taken part in a film to raise awareness during Bonfire season.

It's part of 'Our Bradford', which brings together community groups, faith organisations, police, fire service and the Council to find "innovative solutions to local problems".

This time of year - and often the weeks leading up to it - can be a nightmare for many Bradford residents.

The menace of fireworks and the misery inflicted on people across the district is well documented.

Incidents have included:

  • A 16-year-old boy left with horrific burns and injuries after having a firework thrown at him near Baildon Bank
  • A bombardment of fireworks in West Bowling which made an almighty racket that could be heard up to seven miles away
  • Boxes upon boxes of spent fireworks dumped on a street after the West Bowling barrage
  • A gang of youths firing rockets around Eccleshill Park
  • Bonfire night drama in 2018 when fireworks, placed on a traffic island in the middle of Carlisle Road, Manningham shot into the sky

Motions were put forward, and passed, at a meeting of Bradford Council last week to take a tougher stance against anti-social firework use.

At the meeting, 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 want to urge people who think it is just a bit of fun to grow up and act more responsibly. Doing this doesn't make you look like a gangster - it makes you look stupid."

In the video, community champion Mohammed Ali says: "Antisocial behaviour and attacks on emergency services are totally against the teaching of our religion."

Ustad Muddasir Ul Haq, from Al-Mustafa Centre/Bradford Muslim College, adds: "These are those same emergency services that work tirelessly to protect our community."

While Shaykh Sayyid Ahsan Shah, of Jamiyat Tabligh Ul Islam, says: "Over the Bonfire period we urge families to keep their young ones safe and monitor the whereabouts of their children."

Mawlana Hafeez Aziz, of the Al-Mustafa Centre/Bradford Muslim College, adds: "Let's lead by example, acting in accordance with the teachings of our faith."

People are urged spread the message of love and peace and to represent the faith and community "in the best possible way".

TOP STORIES: