BOLTON is booming -- and it has nothing to do with shopping or the town's economy.

With more than three weeks still to go before Bonfire Night, the morons are out again.

Walk round any Bolton streets tonight and you will hear the peace-shattering sound of bangers exploding -- waking babies, scaring the wits out of the elderly and housebound and frightening the daylights out of people's pets.

It happens year after year after year. So why will no-one take notice and do something about it?

Last year when the BEN ran a campaign calling for fireworks to be restricted to organised displays and banned from casual over-the-counter sale, we received one of the biggest reader responses of any topic we have ever raised.

One or two thought we and the MPs and civic leaders who backed us were a bunch of old spoilsports.

But the vast majority of people -- particularly the front-liners like the firefighters, the ambulance crews, the casualty workers, and pet welfare organisations -- were right behind us.

Millennium

In the past 12 months, the public have had a double dose of the mayhem with shops stocking large numbers of fireworks not just for the last Bonfire Night, but also for the millennium celebrations that greeted the New Year. Again, it wasn't the supervised use of fireworks which caused the problems, it was mindless few who seemed to get a kick out of using bangers to make life a misery for many people.

Our campaign last year showed just how much public support there was for restricting fireworks. That is why we will continue to press for proper controls to stop such highly dangerous items getting into the hands of the irresponsible.

It is crazy that there is a voluntary code of conduct suggesting that retailers do not sell firework until three weeks before November 5, but no legislation to stop them.

Last year, an inspector reveals tonight, police dealt with 126 incidents, mainly of fireworks being thrown in the street. The police already have their work cut out and that is a total waste of stretched resources.

It could be avoided by doing as we suggested last year. Restrict the use of fireworks to properly organised displays. BOLTON is booming -- and it has nothing to do with shopping or the town's economy.

With more than three weeks still to go before Bonfire Night, the morons are out again.

Walk round any Bolton streets tonight and you will hear the peace-shattering sound of bangers exploding -- waking babies, scaring the wits out of the elderly and housebound and frightening the daylights out of people's pets.

It happens year after year after year. So why will no-one take notice and do something about it?

Last year when the BEN ran a campaign calling for fireworks to be restricted to organised displays and banned from casual over-the-counter sale, we received one of the biggest reader responses of any topic we have ever raised.

One or two thought we and the MPs and civic leaders who backed us were a bunch of old spoilsports.

But the vast majority of people -- particularly the front-liners like the firefighters, the ambulance crews, the casualty workers, and pet welfare organisations -- were right behind us.

Millennium

In the past 12 months, the public have had a double dose of the mayhem with shops stocking large numbers of fireworks not just for the last Bonfire Night, but also for the millennium celebrations that greeted the New Year. Again, it wasn't the supervised use of fireworks which caused the problems, it was mindless few who seemed to get a kick out of using bangers to make life a misery for many people.

Our campaign last year showed just how much public support there was for restricting fireworks. That is why we will continue to press for proper controls to stop such highly dangerous items getting into the hands of the irresponsible.

It is crazy that there is a voluntary code of conduct suggesting that retailers do not sell firework until three weeks before November 5, but no legislation to stop them.

Last year, an inspector reveals tonight, police dealt with 126 incidents, mainly of fireworks being thrown in the street. The police already have their work cut out and that is a total waste of stretched resources.

It could be avoided by doing as we suggested last year. Restrict the use of fireworks to properly organised displays.