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Every year in England, on November 5th the police and fire brigades have  to answer hundreds of emergency calls and many children are treated in hospital for burns. People protest that the tradition of Guy Fawkes night should be abolished because it is dangerous and out-of-date.

Some years ago, during the week leading up to and including 5th November 800 people across Britain needed hospital treatment. We asked Nigel Ford, an English teacher some questions about his experience with Guy Fawkes celebrations.

Here are his answers:

When I was younger we did fire and fireworks in our back garden, and some fireworks were quite dangerous. There was one called an aeroplane which had wings and flew round the garden – at eye level! Another one jumped around on the ground going BANG. One night, one of these jumped  into my friend’s Wellington boot and he was badly burnt on his leg. Children used to buy small fireworks and put them through letterboxes in the front door. Hundreds of people, most children, ended up in hospital-some of them lost eyes or hands. Now you have to be 16/18 to buy fireworks, and they seem to be less powerful.

Fireworks are very dangerous. Click here for a DECALOGUE on how to use them.