'Only matter of time till child's hand blown off'

A Derry community group is urging the public to be more mindful of the dangers involved in the misuse of fireworks, in the lead up to Hallowe’en.

Speaking to Derry Now, Eamon McGinley, the outer west co-ordinator of Community Restorative Justice (CRJ) described the situation this year as “constant right across the town”.

Mr McGinley added: “Every single area is being tortured by these fireworks and our fear is that it is only a matter of time before a young person gets their hand blown off.

“CRJ have been rolling out Fireworks safety workshops across the city to help raise awareness of the potential harmful consequences that fireworks can have if they are not properly supervised and managed.

“Fireworks are dangerous and their misuse can have catastrophic consequences and cause life changing injuries or even death to anyone unfortunate enough to be affected.”

“As we near the Hallowe’en holidays, we have seen the annual upsurge in the misuse of fireworks across the city.

“Unfortunately, this has involved incidents where fireworks have been put through people’s letterboxes, fireworks being thrown directly at people and motorists, and fireworks being let off in estates, causing fear and concern among residents,” said Eamon McGinley.

Mr McGinley added that CRJ was working with community organisations and youth clubs to help get the message directly to the young people of the reality involved with misusing fireworks.

He warned: “It isn’t just a bit of craic. There is the potential of someone being seriously maimed or killed if one of these fireworks explodes at the wrong time.”

“We would urge those involved to think about this and make the right choices for themselves and their community.”