Letting fireworks off in our garden.

[raltheraffe]

Yesterday I was letting some, admittedly large, fireworks off in our garden at about 7pm. Fireworks were going vertically upwards and not into neighbours gardens.

Anyway all hell breaks loose. Guy comes out of his house screaming at my DH that he is a "fucking nobhead" and starts banging on our gate which was padlocked.

I went back into the house and locked the front door. Went upstairs to son's bedroom. Window was open as I had been painting sons walls earlier. and curtains had been removed due to the DIY.

Next thing he is shouting at me "oi you, fucking nobhead at the window". By this time the neighbours 2 doors down, who cannot stand me, had come out and were joining in on the trouble.

I replied "go away or I will phone the police" as there was now a small crowd at the front gate. I then shut the window and turned the light off in the room.

Next thing the guy jumped the fence and came in garden banging on front door. I did not answer the door.

They hung around at the front gate for about 15 minutes then got bored and dispersed.

I can appreciate that they may not like fireworks as they may have pets that could have been scared. However another neighbour set some fireworks off (far more than I did) and no-one complained.

Not sure what to do now.

Golly. Your neighbours sound full on, but YABU. I would hate to live next door to a confessed firework lover. Presumably, you'll be letting off another load on the 5th, and perhaps before and after too?

I think if you have near neighbours, you should definitely be far more considerate than you currently appear to be. Why not go to your local display? Infinitely safer and neighbour friendly. Win-win.

I expect fireworks on bonfire night. Anything more than that is fucking inconsiderate

Your neighbours sound like hard work and him jumping the fence and knocking on your door must have been frightening.

I don't think you've helped yourself though, just how 'large' were these fireworks?, if they're the rockets that shoot up into the sky they are hugely loud and I can understand your neighbours being pissed off; his behaviour though was out of order.

I have been totally honest Agrestic, there is nothing more to it than what I have stated.
The level of aggression in the guy was out of keeping with what happened and I am wondering if he has some anger management issues. I can understand him being annoyed, but jumping my garden fence and hanging around for about 15 minutes is a bit of an over-reaction.

Weird answers on this thread. Last time I checked having fireworks this time of year was perfectly legal and commonplace.

Yeah.....right!

YABU. It pisses me off when people let off fireworks in urban areas. One of my neighbours does it every year. Last year I came outside to find one smouldering on the soft roof of my car.

His reaction was U though.

Well I disagree with posters saying that people should not be allowed private fireworks. I think as long as you are setting them off responsibly and being reasonably considerate i.e. saving them for a special event rather than all of the time and not setting them off really late and for a long period, then I honestly don't see the problem.

However, I get the impression there is a history here that we are not fully aware of.

OP your neighbours sound a bit of a rough bunch TBH.

Mind you I love some of your phrasing. I can guess what "industrial language" consists of but I am slightly intrigued as to what the neighbour's mum was doing exactly when she started "ballooning"

Mammanat

As neighbours we keep ourselves to ourselves. We do not play loud music and I work long hours, much of which is split shift, so I am out most evenings.

We have not lived here long and only chatted to tyre guy once when I took the tyre round to his house.

With the dog incident family I had never spoken to them prior to the dog escape and have never spoken to them since. They glare at me every time they go past the house but I just avert my gaze as I do not want to get involved in a staring contest.

Your neighbours behaviour was very inappropriate. But yabu to set fireworks off in the 29th of October.
If you like fireworks just wait till the actual day. We had some idiot neighbours setting them off last night at about 9.30. Ds was terrified and the puppy went mental.

If my next door neighbour had let off big fireworks randomly in the middle of the week, I'd be out there glaring and looking for my cats, I wouldn't be calling them names where they could hear me because I'm not that confrontational but I would be once I'd gone back inside.

That's assuming my dog wasn't freaking out, he's ok with fireworks, but, I've always made sure he's kept away from them.

It's a bit hard to keep the cats safe inside and the dog away if someone just sets them off in the garden next to you on a night where you wouldn't be expecting it and had no warning.

That's without the possibility of sleeping babies, shift workers or the many small children who are scared of fireworks.

Ok his reaction was OTT, but YABU for letting off fireworks without warning anyone.

I expect fireworks on bonfire night. Anything more than that is fucking inconsiderate

What about New Year HighwayDragon? Where I live it has been commonplace to set off fireworks at midnight for more than 20 years.

One year chinese lanterns were all the rage instead but they seem to have gone out of fashion now

I think they sound very aggressive.

However, IMO you should have warned them (and any other close neighbours) about the "admittedly large" fireworks before setting them off.

We had a very nasty incident at a small firework display, when a category 4 mortar firework fired sideways into a crowd of adults & children (including me & DD) & caused some serious injuries. As a result DD is very jumpy around fireworks and firework noises, and the smell of them makes my stomach turn over and I still get very jittery. These are the sorts of things you need to take into account - people are frightened by such things, for all sorts of reasons - along with the fact that animals find them very frightening. It's just a case of being thoughtful & courteous.

Of course I expect to hear the odd small rocket and find a few bits and pieces of paper & broken up rockets in my small back garden in the first week of November, but if someone had been letting off large and noisy fireworks, I would have expected them to let me know beforehand.

Complete overreaction on the part of your neighbour.

I don't believe that people should let fireworks off in their garden ( I have 2 cats) but at least you let them off at a reasonable hour of the day. I also can't believe you are the only one in your area to do so. Round here we have fireworks from mid- October (Diwali) until New Years Eve AND at times ranging from early evening until the early hours of the morning. Horrendously loud things too, sounds like a bomb going off.

You were not breaking any laws but if you were my neighbour and knew I had pets or small children a quick knock on the door to let me know would have been appreciated. Then again if your neighbour is such a twat he probably would have kicked off then!

Yes of course his reaction was U and must have been frightening.

The trouble with large fireworks in gardens in built up areas is that they don't stay going vertically in the air, or just disappear in midair, while you're having fun watching them they come down again and land on your neighbours' roofs, cars, in goldfish ponds, in gardens, they hit against windows.... I live in a very closely built up area and have had fireworks in all those places in my home fired out of local gardens with no responsibility for where they land or what damage they do, and it has very much spoiled my enjoyment of this time of year. I'm now constantly alert and anxious about the damage, not to mention weeks of bangs and distressed pets.

Yes it's legal. Yes, he was absolutely unreasonable. But fireworks being inflicted in close proximity aren't always fun for the people around you who are having to experience them willing or not. (Night after night after night after night....) I agree with PP I WISH they would be banned for domestic sale and allowed on organised displays only.

Sounds like you live in a rough area OP? Any chance of moving?

Anyway, you were both being UR. You really shouldn't be letting off fireworks this early with no consideration for neighbours, but he shouldn't have been so aggressive. It's not illegal but it's ridiculously rude and inconsiderate.

I'm generally quite chilled about residential fireworks around fireworks night (weekend of, couple of days before or after) but it is getting ridiculous now with people setting them off for 2-3 weeks in the run up to and after 5th nov! I have a 2yr old and 2 cats. Keeping them in and soothing dd back to sleep I can handle for a weekend, not like there's anything I can do about it. But this extended period of fireworks every night is just taking the piss. People wonder why we don't have close knit local communities any more, but it's mostly cos everyone hates their neighbours because of shit like this!

I think "ballooning" may be a Salford phrase as I have never heard anyone say it who is not from the region.

Ballooning is basically when someone confronts someone and is shouting and ranting, normally in an intimidating fashion.

When neighbours mum was ballooning she basically said she had lived in the street for 14 years and we are bringing down the neighbourhood.

It would be impossible to bring down the neighbourhood, it makes the estate on Shameless look like Knightsbridge.

To be fair my DH bought this large firework. All the ones I had bought were smaller.

I was letting some, admittedly large, fireworks off in our garden

hmm I wonder just how 'big' these fireworks were and how close to the houses they were, for multiple neighbours to complain?
What did the distance requirement say on the packaging, and how far were you from your neighbour's house?

I know about fireworks because I work on a pyrotechnic team at this time of the year. I love fireworks too.

That said, I really have very little sympathy with untrained people randomly letting off "admittedly large fireworks" in their back gardens. I doubt that you know what you are doing and at the very least, you should be warning your neighbours before scaring the bejesus out of them and their animals.

Sure, it sounds like your neighbour's reaction was way over the top. But did you honestly think that this firework display was a good idea or that there'd be no consequences of just going ahead without warning anyone? I'm amazed you've still got all your limbs left to be honest since I'm willing to bet you just lit the short fuses that came with the fireworks.

We can afford to move to a better neighbourhood, but it would have to be a rented house. We are saving for a deposit to buy a house at the moment and so it makes financial sense to stay in the cheapest house possible.

It would be impossible to bring down the neighbourhood, it makes the estate on Shameless look like Knightsbridge.

You obviously know how to throw a party!
Sure you don't live next door to the Maguires?

well of course he was unreasonable - it's odd you even need to ask - but you should have called the police to deal with it

YABU to set large fireworks off on a wet Wednesday night - and unless you have a 25ft / 30ft garden you where probably being unsafe as well - but his reaction was OTT

I would be really pissed off at you too, YABU. People have been setting off fireworks around where we live every night this week and it's nowhere near bonfire night! I have a jumpy dog, and before him I had several very nervous guinea pigs so I've spent years trying to keep my animals calm while people insist on setting off fireworks for a week before and a week after an event.

Maybe it was the straw that broke the camels back for him. Or the firework.

What other stuff has happened between you?