4:10pm Thursday 8th January 2009
By Gina Bebbington
A GIANT firework narrowly missed a resident and her dogs when it landed in her garden on New Year’s Day.
The heavy rocket, with its 4ft wooden shaft, landed in the garden in Queensgate at 11.10pm, just minutes after the woman, who does not wish to be named, had gone back inside with her pets.
She said: “It was a pretty big bang and it is not a garden rocket.
“Just five minutes before I had been in the same spot.
“With the shut-off time for fireworks being 11pm I thought it would be safe to let the dogs out.”
She said friends of hers had seen burnt out fireworks buried up to three inches into the ground after organised Bonfire Night displays and believes this rocket, called a Golden Wave, could have done serious damage.
“Two years ago my car was hit by a falling firework and the window cracked,” she said.
“Organised events that are advertised are okay because I can put my dogs in the car and drive off somewhere, but if I don’t know where or when they’re going off I can’t plan.”
Insp Pete Minghella, from Northwich Neighbourhood Policing Unit, said unplanned and unexpected fireworks were difficult to police.
“On the whole it’s been unusually quiet in Northwich for the past two events of New Year and Bonfire Night.
“You’re always going to get an idiot and it’s hard to cater for them.
“It’s such a hard offence to prove and we don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun but obviously if we do find anyone with fireworks we will take action.
“A couple of fireworks were seized by staff in the run up to Bonfire Night this year and Trading Standards contacted suppliers to make sure they were legitimate.”
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