WEDDING venues in the Bradford district will be “reminded of the law” in a bid to crack down on anti-social firework use.

Council officers will be visiting Bradford’s many wedding venues in the coming weeks to try to convince them to end the use of fireworks in celebrations.

The Council says it wants to “work together” with venues to tackle the issue, and will point out to these businesses that while their customers may enjoy fireworks as part of their celebrations, they can cause a misery to people living nearby.

Although firework use is most common around Bonfire Night and New Year, their use during weddings means there are high numbers of complaints about late night noise throughout the Summer in Bradford.

It is illegal to let off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, except on Bonfire Night (before midnight), Diwali, New Year (before 1am) and Chinese New Year.  It is also illegal to use fireworks in a public place or within 50 feet of a road, as well as in a public place without the landowner’s permission.

A statement from Bradford Council said: “The council wants to work collaboratively with wedding venues to raise awareness of the distressing impact fireworks have on residents, including the young and old, those with disabilities and pets.

“They will also be reminding venues of the law on fireworks.

“Council officers will visit a number of venues to talk about the problem in a bid to take fireworks out of the festivities and to think about the impact they have on neighbours.

“They will also hand out leaflets on people’s legal responsibilities and the distressing impact of fireworks on others.”

Noreen Akhtar, Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods, Community & City of Culture 2025 Readiness, said: “We know people want to mark their weddings and other special occasions and we don’t want to get in the way of that.

“There are, however, many ways to celebrate without fireworks being involved.

“We must think about everyone and the distressing impact fireworks can have, from disturbed sleep to the upset caused to many. So, we will be visiting wedding and community venues to try to work together on this issue.”

The law states you must be over 18 to purchase, possess or use fireworks in the UK. They can only be purchased from a licensed vendor. If you buy fireworks for personal use, you are only allowed to use them on your private property or property where you have the consent of the landowner. It is a criminal offence to set off fireworks in the street or other public place without permission.