Rocket causes chaos (From Stroud News and Journal)

Rocket causes chaos

A HORSLEY man is calling for fireworks to be banned after a rocket blew a great hole in his roof.

Cotswold stone tiles came clattering down after the explosion on Saturday night and the main road through the village had to be closed as emergency services made the area safe.

"The firework took half my roof off," said Chris Gregory, who lives on Horsley Hill.

"I was indoors watching television when I saw a white flash and half a ton of tiles fell down. "It was a bit scary."

A gaping hole was left in the roof and the emergency services had some difficulty sorting out the situation.

"The local fire-fighters from Nailsworth couldn't access the roof so they had to get a hydraulic platform over from Cheltenham but the hill was too steep for it," he said.

"In the end they had to use two appliances, with roof ladders at the front and the back of the house.

The explosion happened just after 8pm and Horsley Hill was blocked to traffic for around half an hour.

"It was like a war zone up here on Saturday night," he said. "There were rockets flying all over the place so it was impossible to tell which direction this one had come from.

"I don't even know if it was a particularly big one. "Fireworks normally blow up once they're in the air but people seem to think this one landed on the house as it was about to explode."

Now Mr Gregory is calling for tighter regulations on fireworks.

"I'm not totally against fireworks," he said. "But let's stop having them for sale over the counter in shops and stick to organised displays."

Though he and his family were a bit shaken by the incident and have to put up with the inconvenience of having polythene sheeting on the roof where they should have tiles, they will not be out of pocket. He said: "Luckily I'm insured."

The RSPCA has also called for some fireworks to be banned after pets were terrified by loud bangs. See this week's SNJ for details.