A GROUP of Welsh nurses is calling for a blanket ban on the sale of fireworks, in a bid to reduce the annual toll of injuries.
The Swansea branch of the Royal College of Nursing believes only those trained in pyrotechnics should be allowed to buy and use the festive explosives.
If the group's call is successful, ordinary members of the public would not be allowed to buy fireworks for Bonfire Night parties or for any other occasion.
Currently fireworks are available on general sale in the few weeks leading up to significant dates, such as New Year's Eve and Bonfire Night, but can be bought throughout the year from strictly licensed shops.
Kiera Jones, a community nurse in Neath Port Talbot, who will urge the RCN's congress next week to back a ban, said she was prompted to make the motion after dressing patients' fireworks injuries.
She said, "This is an issue of public safety. People buy fireworks all year round.
"There are restrictions in place regarding their size and the age of people who can buy them, but they are widely available on the internet, so the restrictions do not seem to have any effect.
"Some people think that this is about spoiling their fun but these are people who have, so far, been lucky enough not to have suffered an injury.
"Fireworks are also being used as weapons and are connected with anti-social behaviour. They have been put in rubbish bins so they sound like bombs when they explode.
"Protecting public safety is essential. This is not about stopping people from enjoying fireworks, but letting them enjoy them in a safe way."
The last statistics collected in Wales for firework injuries reveal that 61 people were treated in NHS hospitals in Wales in 2005.
Rockets caused the largest number of injuries and people aged 25-44 were most likely to become the victims.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents recorded almost 1,000 injuries in Great Britain in the four-week period between October 11 and November 8, 2005, with almost half occurring at a private or family party.
In one incident alone, a 44-year-old man, from Scotland, lost three fingers and a thumb while playing with fireworks.
Fireworks contain combustible chemicals that are ignited to produce spectacular effects and explosions and are no longer confined to Bonfire Night - they are at the heart of national and cultural celebrations, including New Year's Eve, Chinese New Year and Diwali.
A sparkler can reach temperatures of up to 2,000C, and a rocket can travel up to 2.4km at speeds of 150 miles an hour.
Fireworks injuries can lead to long-term disability and disfigurement and use significant resources, including those of the emergency services and police, as well as NHS surgical and specialist burns resources.
Divisional officer Nick Flanagan, who works in the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service's community safety department, said, "Fireworks are a huge nuisance to the service and I fully understand where these nurses are coming from.
"Fireworks are used and abused by teenagers involved in anti-social behaviour and you don't have to look too hard in the internet to find out how they can be used to make homemade bombs.
"There is nothing to stop a man buying a box of fireworks for a display in the garden. But, for an amateur involving themselves in pyrotechnics, there is a hugh risk of injury or accident.
"We always recommend that people go to an organised display, then people do not have to worry about the purchase or storage of fireworks, because the event is being run by professionals."
The Swansea branch of the Royal College of Nursing believes only those trained in pyrotechnics should be allowed to buy and use the festive explosives.
If the group's call is successful, ordinary members of the public would not be allowed to buy fireworks for Bonfire Night parties or for any other occasion.
Currently fireworks are available on general sale in the few weeks leading up to significant dates, such as New Year's Eve and Bonfire Night, but can be bought throughout the year from strictly licensed shops.
Kiera Jones, a community nurse in Neath Port Talbot, who will urge the RCN's congress next week to back a ban, said she was prompted to make the motion after dressing patients' fireworks injuries.
She said, "This is an issue of public safety. People buy fireworks all year round.
"There are restrictions in place regarding their size and the age of people who can buy them, but they are widely available on the internet, so the restrictions do not seem to have any effect.
"Some people think that this is about spoiling their fun but these are people who have, so far, been lucky enough not to have suffered an injury.
"Fireworks are also being used as weapons and are connected with anti-social behaviour. They have been put in rubbish bins so they sound like bombs when they explode.
"Protecting public safety is essential. This is not about stopping people from enjoying fireworks, but letting them enjoy them in a safe way."
The last statistics collected in Wales for firework injuries reveal that 61 people were treated in NHS hospitals in Wales in 2005.
Rockets caused the largest number of injuries and people aged 25-44 were most likely to become the victims.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents recorded almost 1,000 injuries in Great Britain in the four-week period between October 11 and November 8, 2005, with almost half occurring at a private or family party.
In one incident alone, a 44-year-old man, from Scotland, lost three fingers and a thumb while playing with fireworks.
Fireworks contain combustible chemicals that are ignited to produce spectacular effects and explosions and are no longer confined to Bonfire Night - they are at the heart of national and cultural celebrations, including New Year's Eve, Chinese New Year and Diwali.
A sparkler can reach temperatures of up to 2,000C, and a rocket can travel up to 2.4km at speeds of 150 miles an hour.
Fireworks injuries can lead to long-term disability and disfigurement and use significant resources, including those of the emergency services and police, as well as NHS surgical and specialist burns resources.
Divisional officer Nick Flanagan, who works in the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service's community safety department, said, "Fireworks are a huge nuisance to the service and I fully understand where these nurses are coming from.
"Fireworks are used and abused by teenagers involved in anti-social behaviour and you don't have to look too hard in the internet to find out how they can be used to make homemade bombs.
"There is nothing to stop a man buying a box of fireworks for a display in the garden. But, for an amateur involving themselves in pyrotechnics, there is a hugh risk of injury or accident.
"We always recommend that people go to an organised display, then people do not have to worry about the purchase or storage of fireworks, because the event is being run by professionals."