On the eve of the Halloween holidays, three Children's Express reporters, all under the age of 15 set out to see if Belfast firework retailers were up-holding the law.
| He was telling us to lie about our age and then he would have given them to us. |
In Northern Ireland the law currently states that it is illegal to sell fireworks to anyone under the age of 16. This law can be found in the Explosives Act 1875 and Explosive (Fireworks) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999.
Daniel (10) went into a well-known, medium-size convenience chain store to check out the fireworks they had on offer. Friend, Sharon (14) went up to the till and bought smoke pellets. No-one asked her age.
The shop assistant was willing to ring the purchase through when Daniel made an excuse about not having enough money and left the shop.
He returned to the shop later with Victoria and Sharon, both aged 14. They bought Devils Ring Cartwheels for 3.99, which were promptly handed over to CE staff waiting out of sight in a near by doorway.
The shop assistant and her colleague decided it was all right to sell fireworks to the children, who were clearly underage, but warned them to be careful.
For the record, Devils Ring Cartwheels must be nailed to an upright post and lit at arm's length before immediately retiring five metres.
"They knew that you're only supposed to sell them to people aged 16 or over but they sold them to me and I'm only ten," said Daniel.
Next stop on the hunt for fireworks was a large retail outlet in the heart of the city. One look at the reporters prompted an immediate, "can we see some identification with your age please ?" No fireworks were bought.
Only a few streets away at a well-established local retailers, the potential firework customers were asked their age. When they told the truth, the sales person said "if you'd just said sixteen, I could have sold them to you."
"He was telling us to lie about our age and then he would have given them to us," Sharon said. Reporters were shocked that some Belfast shopkeepers seemed to break the law with such ease and readily sold hazardous fireworks to young children.
"It's simple," said Victoria, "if you're able to walk into a shop and pretend you're 17 many won't ask your age and if they do you can lie."
Selling fireworks to young people below the legal age limit carries a fine of up to 5,000, possibility of confiscation of fireworks and/or a six month jail sentence. Last year, 139 people received hospital treatment due to fire-work related injuries during the five-week Halloween period. By Daniel McCrisken, 10 Sharon Armstrong,
About the team
This article was produced by Daniel McCrisken, 10 Sharon Armstrong, 14 and Victoria Murray, 14.
