SO how was Guy Fawkes Night for you? For some, the allure of Bonfire Night, with its promise of spectacular firework displays, or even the more gentle thrill of sparklers, will always stay fresh.

But for more and more of us the weeks surrounding November 5 have become one long blur of sleepless nights and anxiety.

Parents with young families, and dog and cat owners in particular, are increasingly suffering due to neighbours, or passers-by, who seem intent on outdoing the local official display by letting off rockets and bangers into the small hours.

But this year the problem has escalated from an anti-social to a criminal one - with the police investigating serious attacks involving fireworks across Aireborough and Wharfedale. Leeds City Councillor Chris Townsley (Lib Dem, Horsforth) may at first glance seem to be over-reacting by calling for an outright ban.

But consider the facts. Over the last week alone two telephone boxes in Horsforth have been literally blown up by combined firework explosions. Some poor soul in Yeadon, meanwhile, was treated to a firework so powerful it smashed their front window and left a crater in the lawn.

And the police tell us the problem is spreading, with old-style post boxes in other parts of Leeds being blasted apart after youths filled them with fireworks and then set the lot alight. Coun Townsley is quite right to say that with all of these incidents it is just a matter of time before someone is either badly injured or even killed.

Given that scenario, perhaps it is time the Government did take a harder line and, abandoning for once its commitment to the 'free market', limited firework sales to responsible, licensed display organisers.

No-one likes being a 'party pooper', but Coun Townsley may have got it right by stating that for most of us this particular 'party' has now ceased to be any fun.