THE announcement by leisure chiefs that there will be no council-funded firework displays this year will impress local people like a damp squib.

Not only has the traditional Leverhulme Park Bonfire Night display been extinguished, but events in Westhoughton and Horwich will also fizzle out. Labour councillors say the measures have been forced upon them by a Government using spending restrictions to help fund pre-election income tax cuts.

Yet, while it is true that priorities must be made, there are several aspects of this decision which are a source of concern and rancour. No-one would disagree that a few organised public firework displays are far safer than many private small ones. The "cost" of a disaster resulting from a poorly-supervised bonfire or firework display does not bear thinking about.

For a council with a £200 million annual budget, the slashing of £5,000 earmarked for firework dislays is miserly and pathetic - especially when that same council recently paid £4,000 towards a "work of art"-cum-bench in Ashburner Street.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.