Should fireworks lose their bang?

For some, it is the highlight of autumn: a crisp night, a crackling bonfire and a sky full of colour.

For others, it means weeks of anxious pets, sleepless nights and bangs that come without warning.

Now a growing number of people want fireworks to lose their bang, and some displays are already swapping explosions for quieter alternatives like lasers.

But traditionalists say a fireworks night without the noise just isn't the same.

The government has just finished consulting on cutting the noise of fireworks sold to the public.

Katherine Alderson, a spokesperson for the Firework Campaign, became involved in the debate after her dog Ted was left terrified by fireworks.

She says the season now stretches from October to January, and has fitted homemade insulation to her bedroom window to try to block out the noise.

"We'll literally camp down in my bedroom until the firework season is over," she said.

"We're not saying that you can't necessarily have your fireworks. We just feel that there should be some degree of sense and sensibility here."

The Firework Campaign wants to "reduce avoidable harm, restrict the loudest fireworks and use alternatives such as public displays or quieter fireworks".

Alderson said she would personally like to see fireworks banned from sale but wanted to be "realistic".

She said she knew of others who had bought static caravans or sat in motorway service stations to keep their dogs away from the noise.

Consumer fireworks can currently be as loud as 120 decibels.

"If fireworks were invented today, chances are they wouldn't be available to the general public in the shops, because let's face it, we are dealing with explosives," she said.

She said fireworks had changed since she was a child.

"We probably had the neighbours round and it was an enjoyable experience," she said. "But it was short, sensible and considerably quieter than what they are today."

She said people are still able to enjoy the nostalgia and community without using fireworks that are "the equivalent of a war zone".

Government polling found 91% of respondents supported regulatory change.

Among those who disliked fireworks noise, 91% cited its effect on animals, 71% its effect on the peace and quiet of their community, and 68% its effect on vulnerable people.

Two parliamentary petitions - one calling for a 90 decibel limit and another for sales to be restricted to council-approved events - each gathered more than 180,000 signatures and were debated by MPs in January.

Bonfire Night has been marked in Britain since the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

The lamp Guy Fawkes supposedly used that night is on display at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Andy Hubble, director of Star Fireworks in Bracknell, said any changes must be "proportionate and evidence-led".

He said about 20 million people enjoy fireworks each year, and the industry supports 4,000 full-time seasonal jobs.

Hubble believes many of the things that concern people, like antisocial use, are already illegal, and called for better enforcement of existing laws rather than further restrictions.

"Responsible consumers and legitimate businesses should not be penalised for the actions of a very small minority who are acting illegally," he said.

He warned that schools and scout groups often bought consumer fireworks for their own displays, and that tighter rules could hit their fundraising.

One school he worked with raised £14,000 from its Bonfire Night event.

He also said there was still strong demand for traditional displays.

"We've seen across the country that where communities, like parish councils and so on, organise a low-noise fireworks display... their communities tell them afterwards 'that it's not what we want. We just want to see normal fireworks.'"

He urged people letting off fireworks to warn their neighbours, so that pet owners and others could prepare.

In the New Forest village of Boldre, near Lymington, the parent-teacher association at William Gilpin Primary School is holding its first laser show on 23 October.

The village fireworks display stopped around the time of the Covid pandemic, partly because of rising insurance costs.

PTA chair Rebecca White said replacing it with traditional fireworks "wasn't really even discussed".

Fields of horses sit right next to the site where the old display used to be held.

"The lasers, they're definitely still really exciting," she said. "It will still be quite a loud event, but it just won't have those startling bangs that sensitive ears and animals struggle with."

She said some people had told her they were coming specifically because they did not like the bangs, and nobody had asked why they weren't doing fireworks.

Low-noise displays are also appearing across the region.

Oxford Round Table's display in South Park added a low-noise show for families last year, held before its traditional display, and Ringwood's display in Hampshire has included a separate low-noise show.

Weymouth's summer fireworks in Dorset included lower-noise nights this year.

But Alderson does not think lasers alone will win everyone over.

"To a few people, it's more about the noise," she said. "So you're never going to satisfy that person."

The government's consultation, run by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, closed on 7 October.

It proposes cutting the maximum noise of fireworks sold to the public from 120 to 110 decibels, which the government says would roughly halve how loud they sound.

It also sought views on a further drop, to 100 or 90 decibels.

Under the proposals, louder fireworks would still be available to professionals, so organised public displays could still use them.

The government also wants to make clear that fireworks with multiple shot tubes are banned from sale to the public. It said an outright ban on the public buying fireworks would not be proportionate.

The government will publish a summary of responses and its plans, and any changes would need parliamentary approval.

Alderson said it was "good that they are listening", but added: "There's no guarantees that we'll get these changes."