COUNCIL chiefs in York today welcomed tough new laws that aim to drive firework-wielding thugs off the streets.

The Government chose Bonfire Night to unveil plans to crack down on firework misuse.

Yobs caught throwing fireworks will face an £80 fine.

Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt said thugs would no longer be allowed to "terrorise" the public.

A further measure will see people under 18 banned from possessing fireworks in public places.

The measures were welcomed by City of York Council, which said it backed anything helping to crack down on antisocial behaviour.

But the powers will not be in place until Christmas at the earliest. They are headed by a ban on the largest and most powerful fireworks for all the public.

Other measures include a noise limit of 120 decibels on fireworks available to the public and a new licensing system for the sale of fireworks to ensure local authorities have the power to refuse and revoke licences if retailers act inappropriately.

York councillors will be discussing the law at full council on November 11 and noting the growth in the number of "serious incidents involving powerful fireworks" in the city this year.

Over the last few weeks, York has been shaken by a series of firework incidents, including seven separate attacks on phone boxes.

On one occasion, a cyclist was thrown off his bike as a firework blew the door of a phone box across the road.

A motion submitted by Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Waudby will call on the chief executive to write to local MPs requesting that the new law is carried out to the letter.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "We welcome anything that helps us to crack down on this kind of antisocial behaviour while allowing people to have fun on Bonfire Night."

York trading standards officers found no stores in York selling fireworks to underage children following a wave of test purchases.

Youngsters - supervised by officers - were used to try to buy rockets from 17 stores across the city in the past two weeks, but all were refused.

But trading standards manager Liz Levett said fireworks were seized from one store after it was found to be breaching regulations by selling too many and not storing them correctly.

"It's very good news in terms of our registered dealers not supplying fireworks to underage people," she said.

"Every premises we visited will be getting notification that staff didn't make any sales."

In North Yorkshire, trading standards officers supervised 30 test purchases in stores in Scarborough, Selby and Northallerton. The results of the investigation are not yet known.

Updated: 10:44 Wednesday, November 05, 2003