Should sales of fireworks to the public be banned to avoid animals being frightened?

Pet owners are voicing concern over back-garden displays and saying they lead to a lot of stress on animals.

With more organised displays returning this year after lockdown cancelled many last year, some argue that people should stick to these and not let off fireworks at home.

Suffolk Trading Standards has put out a plea asking for consideration if letting off fireworks, tweeting: "People are more likely to plan to protect pets and vulnerable people if fireworks are let off on traditional dates.

"The firework curfew is midnight on Fireworks Night, 1am on Diwali, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year, and 11pm the rest of the year."

The county's trading standards team has also warned that people using fireworks illegally could be fined up to £5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months.

Sainsbury's, which has stores in Ipswich and across Suffolk, has once again confirmed that it will not be selling fireworks this year. It became the first supermarket in the UK to remove them from its shelves two years ago.

When the supermarket first announced its decision, it did not confirm this was due to concern over pets, but said: "We regularly review the products available in our stores and we are no longer selling fireworks based on a range of factors.

“Customers can continue to choose from a range of seasonal products, such as glow sticks and light-up spinning wands.”

Meanwhile, a number of other stores are selling low-noise fireworks, including Aldi, Tesco and Morrisons.