The firework spectacular that blew up in their faces

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act have blown the lid off the shambolic build-up to the Guy Fawkes Night event.

Just a day before the fireworks were launched from St Peter's School fields, North Yorkshire Police events officer Paul Maloney claimed the impact on the city's highways had not been properly assessed or managed.

Ambulance and fire chiefs earlier raised concerns as well, with one warning there was the "potential for chaos to ensue".

Even the council's head of network management, Peter Evely, warned on November 4 that pedestrians wanting a good view of the display would use river bridges, causing heavy pedestrian congestion and consequential safety problems with moving traffic.

He said: "None of these concerns are reflected in the (event) manual, nor are there any assessments of the risks and mitigation measures that may be necessary."

And Councillor Ruth Potter, a member of North Yorkshire Police Authority, revealed York police chief Tim Madgwick had expressed "grave concerns" to her about the display during a private briefing.

In an email to council chief executive David Atkinson, she said: "He is unsure if any risk assessment has been undertaken so that control measures can be put in place. There also appears to be no traffic management plan."

But council leader Steve Galloway responded to her comments by sending an extraordinary email to Chief Superintendent Madgwick, suggesting he had been responsible for a serious breach of confidentiality by divulging the secret fireworks launch site to Police Authority members.

He said: "The thought that a Labour member of the council might, for mischievous reasons, seek to leak this information to the media - and thereby jeopardise the whole event - is an alarming prospect for me."

He asked Chief Supt Madgwick to check first with the council's chief executive before briefing police authority members in future.

Coun Galloway said today he corresponded with Chief Supt Madgwick on a regular basis, and he regarded this particular email to him as private correspondence.

He said it had been crucial for the location not to become public - a policy supported by the police chief - as that would have led to the event being cancelled or postponed and great public disappointment.

Coun Potter said: "I'm surprised at the response by Steve Galloway (to my email), as he seems more concerned with the politics than looking at the serious concerns people had about the event, including the police chief."

City of York Council said today it estimated more than 100,000 people enjoyed a wide range of entertainments and activities staged from the end of

October until November 6 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot.

A spokeswoman said: "The events were carefully planned to ensure the safety and enjoyment of those attending with advice taken from the relevant organisations.

"While the vast majority of events were well received by all those who took part, we recognise that there were some problems in the city centre on November 5, mainly because of the much larger than expected attendance.

"We recognise that there are a number of lessons that need to be learned and they will be used to guide the planning of future events."

'Potential for chaos at school'

THE documents show how concerns about the safety of motorists and pedestrians on Guy Fawkes Night were repeatedly raised by senior police officers.

Events officer Paul Maloney said in one email the council was taking a risk in assuming no crowds would turn up near St Peter's School.

He said: "I hope their assessment is correct, and no one gets in the situation where a court of law has to decide how "reasonable" this course of action was.

"The police have some concern that if ANY publicity does get out into the public arena regarding this "unpublicised" firework display, a crowd will turn up. If this happens, I feel there is the potential for traffic chaos around the event site, and chaos on the firing site itself."

In another email, sent in September, he said: "I am still uncomfortable with an event such as this being presented to the Safety Advisory Group at such short notice, especially since we have known about this anniversary for the last 400 years!"

In mid-October, he said: "With less than three weeks to run to November 5, we still do not have any plan of the event, with an event manual showing how it will be managed."

He added city centre manager, Paul Barrett had no idea what was happening during the event.

Traffic management officer Martin Hemenway said he was concerned the location for the fireworks could not be kept secret and crowds would develop on the river banks.

Councillor Ruth Potter said York Chief Superintendent Tim Madgwick had raised grave concerns about the display, which would happen at about the same time as an FA Cup match attracting 3,000 to 4,000 to Bootham Crescent was finishing.

She said he had concerns people would congregate on bridges and the riverside, but with no barriers erected to control the crowds.

Geoff Farnworth, of the ambulance service TENYAS, said it had been claimed there would be a crowd no bigger than on a Saturday afternoon.

Warning that the service would already be fully committed with normal weekend work, he asked: "Do the organisers not realise the difference between day and night events?"

Meanwhile, Jim Bowes, of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said he feared there was "the potential for chaos to ensue" because there was no traffic management or crowd management system in place.

Minster plan veto

THE documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal how the council originally wanted to launch the fireworks from the roof of York Minster - but the idea was turned down by the cathedral authorities.

They were concerned not about health and safety but the suitability of such a

display, said cultural events manager Peter Boardman.

A long list of other potential sites, including the Museum Gardens - but with the fireworks launched from the Memorial Gardens across the river - was considered but rejected on various grounds. The roof of the Moat House Hotel was ruled out because of "poor viewing possibilities".

The best site left was Clifford's Tower, and detailed discussions took place about this location with display organisers Kimbolton Fireworks, but council leader Steve Galloway then vetoed the idea.

An email from cultural events officer Peter Boardman said: "Apologies for this, but we have now received clarification from Coun Galloway about the sort of display that he doesn't want. Basically, this rules Clifford's Tower out completely. We will now go to Plan B, which is to fire from the fields at St Peter's School."

Coun Galloway said today the security costs involved in staging the display at Clifford's Tower had been far too high for the financially-strapped authority.

How the events of November 5 unfolded

MIKE Laycock recalls residents' furious reaction to the Guy Fawkes fireworks fiasco, reveals how the display came to be staged at St Peter's School playing fields, and reports on the safety fears expressed by police and other emergency services in the run-up to the event.

THOUSANDS gathered in front of York Minster late in the afternoon of November 5, watching the illuminated West Front as they waited patiently for fireworks to mark the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot.

But the crowd's anticipation turned to disappointment when the first mortars and rockets exploded ...out of sight behind the Dean Court Hotel.

People then surged in the dark down Duncombe Place and High Petergate in the hope of getting a view. Huge crowds gathered on Lendal Bridge, bringing traffic to a halt. A taxi ran over a man's foot in the chaos.

Crowds who had gathered near Clifford's Tower surged down to the riverside in Tower Gardens, with one man falling in the river - although he fortunately managed to climb safely back on to the bank.

City of York Council sought initially to claim the event had been a success, but the problems generated one of the Evening Press's biggest-ever postbags, as scores of readers wrote in to castigate the "fiasco."

People complained bitterly about the disappointment they and their children had suffered and about the health and safety risks they were exposed to, and criticised the council's organisational abilities.

Later, the council's leisure boss Charlie Croft admitted to the Evening Press he had always known that people in front of the Minster would be unable to see the fireworks.

He said it was always intended that spectators would make their way to Bootham Bar or Lendal Bridge to get a view of the skyline display, but organisers had not realised just how large a crowd would assemble by the cathedral.

Updated: 12:49 Wednesday, January 04, 2006