The new measures announced by Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson in a bid to curb the dreadful toll of fireworks accidents should be particularly welcome in Bradford. This district can take no pride in its latest claim to fame, being named as one of the country's worst firework accident blackspots.

In fact "accident" is hardly the correct word to describe the bulk of the incidents which last year resulted in 26 people being treated at the BRI. Hooligans were responsible for 16 of those injuries, in one of which a woman was nearly blinded when a thug posted a firework through her letterbox. In the Yorkshire region as a whole there were 219 injuries - a statistic which represents a great deal of pain and suffering.

The measures announced by the Minister make a great deal of sense and are long overdue: a ban on airbombs, which fire as explosive charge in the manner of a supercharged Roman Candle; fixed-penalty notices of up to £40 for over-18s caught throwing fireworks in the street; and a crackdown on illegal markets in fireworks. There will also be encouragement for councils to use their powers to curb the problems of noise and nuisance caused by fireworks - a move which, if acted upon in Bradford, should help to reduce the barrage of explosions which echo around the city on a daily basis.

However, as welcome as these proposals are, they will be only as effective as the authorities make them. Resources will need to be put into policing the new measures, and high-profile prosecutions with exemplary punishments must follow, if they are to have the desired effect.