From Ken Vibert, chairman, Comité des Connétables.
ON 5 October the JEP published an article with the headline ‘More time to buy fireworks this year’.

The article correctly reported that the retail sale dates will be from Thursday 29 October to Saturday 7 November but incorrectly added that ‘Normally, shops are only allowed to sell fireworks for one week.’

You have already printed one letter of complaint (JEP, 12 October) that the sales period should be extended and I envisage this may be the start of many.

To avoid further confusion, I wish to point out that the sales period has not been extended, rather the dates have been altered to enable the sales period to cover two weekends.

In previous years the final day of sales has been 5 November, which is bonfire night, and sales have commenced on 26 October. This year the Constables accepted that a number of people would prefer to have their firework displays over the weekend immediately after and therefore agreed that sales would be from 28 October to 7 November, the same number of days.

The Constables reached this decision precisely because they are very mindful of the nuisance fireworks cause to some residents and to pets and other animals.
East Wing, RJAHS Headquarters, Trinity.