Kimbolton Fireworks to be prosecuted

Report by NATALIE BOWYER ONE of Britain s most famous fireworks company s is to be prosecuted following an accident at a display last year, it has been confirmed. Kimbolton Fireworks is accused of breaching health and safety legislation at an event held i

Report by NATALIE BOWYER

ONE of Britain's most famous fireworks company's is to be prosecuted following an accident at a display last year, it has been confirmed.

Kimbolton Fireworks is accused of breaching health and safety legislation at an event held in Northamptonshire.

Eleven people, seven of them children, were injured when a firework went into the crowd watching the display.

Speaking to The Hunts Post, chairman of Kimbolton Fireworks, Ron Lancaster said: "We are all still devastated about what happened last year.

"This is the first time anything like this has happened in the company's history and we have never been in court before."

A firework is thought to have malfunctioned and shot into a crowd of 15,000 people at Wickstead Park in Kettering on November 5 last year.

At the time of accident directors at Kimbolton Fireworks said they were very distressed by what had happened.

The display was aborted as soon as the incident took place and the injured spectators were taken to Kettering General Hospital where they were treated for burns.

An investigation was launched by Kettering Borough Council and a Health and Safety Executive team.

Kimbolton Fireworks was founded in 1964 and is now a market leader in firework production. It was the winner of the Atlantic Festival in Maderia 2004 and 2005, and winners of the Gold Prize at Cannes International Pyrotechnic Festival in 2002.

The company is expected to be in court at the end of this month.