To hate the neighbours for this

[highlandspringerdog]

We live in a little street of terraced houses. Everyone knows everyone and it's usually lovely and safe. My kids are late primary school / early secondary school and I feel totally at ease letting them nip to the shop in their own, to school etc.

Acouple of years ago I arrived home from work to find neighbours were having a firework display with the bucket of fireworks in the road about 2 metres from my front door. I found out about it as I drove down the road and nearly knocked into their cocking bucket. A firework whizzed out of it into the sky when I was practically on top of it. Slammed on brakes. Did not cause enormous car based explosion. Phew.

Neighbours had all their kids milling about - including toddlers just pottering about. I could not believe it!

Parked up at the top of the street and went in my front door. Found one of my kids in tears too scared to go out the house as the fireworks were there but worried as she was meant to be meeting friend at bus stop.
Livid.

I didn't say anything to the twerp neighbours that year as I was too in intimidated - the ones that set these off are the sort of A list neighbours, all friends, go on holiday together etc. I just felt a bit shy to go and say actually can you please not have your bloody fireworks in the street.

Last year - the same. Got home, war bucket in street, fire explosions coming out of it. With a twist - they'd stuck a twisting firework to a tree right outside my house and then lit it. So this fucking thing was whizzing around in a circle with sparks flying out of it and I was stuck in my car watching, and desperately repeat calling the landline phone to tell the kids not to come out of the house. I called the police. They came just as the pricksters were finishing up their display, and told them it was fine!!!

And now it's this year.

I thought I should be brave and ask them not to do it in advance. I've spent about a month worrying about fireworks injuries v annoying the neighbours, and in the end decided not to be a wimp, but to be super friendly.

Texted neighbours. Asked could they maybe not set off fireworks in street this year but instead do in their garden. Said I totally appreciate that some people love fireworks but I found them v frightening and would really appreciate them not being in our street on the pavement or in the road. "We'll try not to do it in the street" was the answer! Followed quickly by a message asking for me to not text them again.

AIBU to wish they'd all fuck the fuck off ? And take their fireworks with them?

[amammabear]

To be honest, even most gardens aren't big enough for it to be safe. As for the street, in our area, the police are very keen to stop that happening.

[Willow2016]

Neighbours coming together for an event?

Setting off fireworks in the middle of a through street where cars are passing or trying to park?
Where someone cant get in or out their house cos the neighbours have decided to put catherine wheels on thier trees/fireworks going off in front of their house?

Thats not an 'event' thats an accident waiting to happen.

[Briarthorn]

They're not safe in tiny gardens. I'm a bit worried about the safety of our arsehole neighbours trampolines tbh. A stray sparkler could quite easily set them ablaze

[wombattoo]

The OP said it was a little street - not the A1 and she didn't say it her tree, just a tree outside her house. There is a tree outside my house but it is on the street and nowhere near my front door.

[wombattoo]

*was her tree

[WindInThePussyWillows]

Your neighbour sounds like mine, complete twat!

[BreconBeBuggered]

What arseholes your neighbours are. I concede that fireworks are legal in gardens, even though it's a PITA for us as they turn the dog completely batshit, but in the street? No way should that be tolerated.

[merrymouse]

Fair enough highland but you described it as a little street of terraces and said that half the neighbours were involved, so it sounds more like a community event.

Community events need licenses.

It's the little annoying bureaucratic details that help to stop death and life changing injuries.

[rollonthesummer]

The police actually came and they were fine to do it??

[merrymouse]

I think the OP phoned the police for advice.

[Bluntness100]

Hmmm, I agree with you on the legalities and annoyance, as well as safety issues, but I would also say you need to live there and this is clearly an event where they all get together as a community. In addition fireworks usually don't take that long. Having bad relations with half your street is not a positive. In addition as there is about 12 of them I'm assuming someone is supervising it , the kids and the fireworks, they are adults after all.

Personally I would aim to stay in and ignore it sorry. When you're in a situation where you're neighbours are already texting you to tell you not to text them again, then I think you've already got a problem. The fact you have kids and there was a neighbour hood fire work display and no one told uou or invited uou may also be telling and I think you could be making a bad situation worse.

[Blu]

It sounds as if there is quite a strong community network in your road and they have been doing this regularly for years.

You do sound very very anxious about it, and your kids crying etc.

You know they are going to do it, so either all in your household plan to get home and stay in before it starts, or go out for the evening and come back when they are done .

You were friends enough to have their number to text: you could have said, in person, 'we are all firework refuseniks , so will be staying in during the fireworks, but tell us what time they will stop and we'll come out with bonfire toffee',

Or just said it scares you so what time will it happen?

Year round community in a street is important. Not everyone agrees with every event but negotiate rather than pour cold water on it (ha).

[SlottedSpoon]

Exit I can't believe your attitude that the OP should just 'suck it up' because people like to have fireworks. What they are doing is dangerous, probably illegal and outrageously presumptuous. If they want to do a display in the street they need a licence and to follow proper H&S procedures, if not then they should stick to their back garden.

It's great that neighbours want to 'come together for an event' but unbelievable that people are so dim and so selfish that they think it's okay to just go ahead with this without consulting ALL the neighbours in that street to make sure everyone is on board with it. Besides which, being a public road, any car/pedestrian could come around the corner at any time and their could be nasty accident. They are idiots. If it were me I'd have called the police but asked to remain anonymous so as to avoid an awkward atmosphere.

[user1471545174]

They sound awful, OP. Their response was so entitled - obviously unused to being opposed.

I have similar neighbours, so just offering a bunch of
I am dreading a repeat of their NYE party and contemplating staying somewhere else.

It's incredibly hard to reason with people like this who only ever consider their own "fun".

[SlottedSpoon]

There. Don't know how that happened

[carabos]

I think in this case the actual law trumps the community thing. It's perfectly possible to have a community event that doesn't break the law and the neighbours ABU. And anyway, a few people in the street doesn't constitute the community. They sound exactly like our old neighbours who would have behaved just like yours.

[BakeOffBiscuits]

I can't believe the police told you the neighbours weren't doing anything wrong.

This year maybe print off the Law which shows they are committing a crime, just I case you get another policofficer who doesn't want to do their job properly. Then phone the police the minute they start letting off the fireworks. Tell the handler they are in a residential street and children are milling around.

Your neighbours' sound like thick twats.

[Bluntness100]

Can I ask, have you texted to complain about anything else? About more than one thing? Or sent more than the one text you've mentioned? Has your family been in any way disruptive?

I'm sorry but the fact they didn't tell you about the event, the fact you were not and have never been invited, the fact they responded with don't text me again after one polite text indicates that maybe there is something more going on here in terms of your relationship with them.

Yes totally it could be all them and they are hugely unreasonable, but for a neighbour to respond abruptly and then tell you to not text again after one polite text is highly unusual, that's the sort of thing that's normally sent when someone has reached the end of their tether. It is absolutely not the sign of a good relationship.with your neighbours, in fact it's a sign of the absolute opposite. So is there more to this?

[InfiniteSheldon]

I'm with Wombat this simply doesn't ring true. They as a group of neighbours get together, spend a fortune on fireworks and don't tell you? They then put said fireworks in a bucket in the middle of the road and all, every single neighbour, run away and hide out of sight so that you drive over bucket? You called the police who basically said you were being an arse. These same friendly, community spirited neighbours ask you to cease texting them. The only thing I think you are reasonable about is that one of them has gone into your front garden and tied a firework to a tree in your garden and honestly I think it was probably in the street just close to your house. It's firework night, I'm scared of fireworks so I stay in.

[2kids2dogsnosense]

You could promise not to text if they promise not to set off fireworks.

I hate fireworks, but my neighbours have always been considerate about them - none of this "public street" stuff. I can't understand how the police said it was "fine" for them to do this.

I would ring the police as soon as it starts this year - perhaps if they drive down and a bucket of gunpowder and cordite explodes unexpectedly beneath their wheels, they' appreciate the problem!

[whyistherumgone]

I understood that the bucket was in the road and the neighbours were right down the other end so OP couldn't see them when she originally drove up.
I don't think she's being unreasonable - I'm all for
community spirit but this isn't in the spirit of the community, it's downright dangerous.
It would be different if it was in someone's garden and they invited all the neighbours over, it would be different if it was in a field not far from the houses and everyone gathered around to watch. The problem is that it's in the road, in the street which is illegal!
I would call the police if it happens again OP and wouldn't care about being called a killjoy. You've not been invited anyway so (and no disrespect or offence meant here) i understand that you're not close friends with them. It's the sort of thing that people say oh it's fine to until someone gets injured or someone's house has extensive damage.

[Whisky2014]

Just call policr and also record it on your phone

[mypropertea]

How did you resist sending "I'll try" to his please don't text me text?!

[greenfolder]

We have neighbours whose garden backs onto the side of our house. So they let their fireworks off 2 metres for our back door. And the debris lands on our conservatory roof. Twats.
If I were you I would just go out and take the kids with you. Come back when it's all over

[CaliforniaHorcrux]

Bluntness 100 if there was an Oscar for being smug and patronizing you'd win it. You've tried several times on this thread to suggest the OP is some kind of bad guy in the background just for posting that she doesn't like the fireworks incident and defend her neighbours by suggesting there is a whole lot more going on that she's not telling.