Guide dog users “cannot go outside” when fireworks are going off, an MP has said.
Sarah Owen brought forward proposals to block members of the public from buying fireworks louder than 90 decibels, as part of the Fireworks Bill, but MPs ran out of time on Friday to agree it in the Commons.
The Labour MP for Luton North said her private member’s Bill would target “nuisance, loud fireworks”.
She told MPs: “This is having a detrimental impact on not just our environment, not just on people’s mental health, but also on education as well.
“And groups across Luton North and the country reported that this year was possibly the worst for fireworks in terms of the loudness, in terms of the frequency, and also in terms of the antisocial use of them, using them as almost a weapon in some communities.”
Under existing rules, members of the public must not buy fireworks louder than 120 decibels.
“Now I’m loud, but that is as loud as a rock concert, and any member of the public can go ahead and buy something that loud,” Ms Owen said.
She added that the explosions were “particularly distressing in the middle of the night” for non-verbal autistic children and young people.
She said that, having spoken to some parents, “they did say that it’s the sporadic nature of these fireworks which is causing distress, where they cannot plan in advance, where they cannot prepare young people and neurodiverse people for this barrage of noise”.
Conservative shadow environment minister Dr Neil Hudson, who was a vet, described “cowering pets, pets that go missing, but then also farm animal livestock or horses that bolt and cause themselves horrific injuries”.
Ms Owen said: “Some of the fireworks lobby have said, ‘well, you need to train your pets better, you need to train your dogs better’.
“You can’t get better trained than a guide dog, and yet I spoke to guide dog users and they’ve told me that it impacts them so much that they cannot go outside when fireworks are going off.”
The Fireworks Bill will next be listed for debate on April 25.
It was one of several proposed new laws which will be rescheduled.
Among them was the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill which David Reed, the Conservative MP for Exmouth and Exeter East, put forward.
It would ban people from bringing hunting trophies into the UK from overseas and was rescheduled for June 13.
Edith Kabesiime, World Animal Protection Africa wildlife campaign manager, said: “It is truly disappointing that this important legislation has not progressed in Parliament today.
“Trophy hunting is nothing but an opportunity for a cruel and wealthy few to murder our native wildlife for their own vile entertainment.
“Banning the import into Great Britain of these sick souvenirs, which are the body parts of our incredible wild animals, must happen. It is simply the right thing to do. Our wildlife must be protected.”
The Chalk Streams (Protection) Bill will be re-listed for March 28.
The proposal from Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) would give the waterways, which cut across England from Norfolk to Hampshire, greater environmental safeguards, including over pollution.