NEW Year's Eve seems to have completely changed in that at the stroke of midnight people walk out into their gardens and set off explosive devices.

They make the whole street shake, in fact York sounded like Beirut on a bad day.

Why do sensible people need to do this rather than taking a bottle of port and a few glasses round to neighbours and wishing them a happy New Year?

Fireworks used to be concentrated round November 5 - now they seem to be available and used all year round.

We have two dogs and the eldest is absolutely terrified of fireworks. I am sure I am not alone in asking for people to use them more sensibly, ideally choosing ones with colour rather than explosive quality and that they set them off only on November 5.

If home fireworks were banned and people attended organised events then safety would be greatly improved and local areas would not suffer.

Graham Perry,

Garburn Grove,

Rawcliffe, York.

...FIREWORKS with loud bangs have really gone beyond a joke. Do the people letting these fireworks off quite late in the evening never think there are young children who will be woken and frightened by these loud bangs?

On Christmas night we had a very distressed young granddaughter who, I am sure, was not the only one who woke up terrified after very loud fireworks were let off.

I am not against fireworks, but it is time there was some control over their sale, perhaps limiting them to the week before November 5 and two or three days before New Year. And they should be less noisy.

Phyllis Smith,

Knapton Lane,

Acomb, York.

Updated: 11:11 Friday, January 03, 2003