We got there around 6pm and found a spot by the safety fence about one third in from the right hand side. We watched the firemen do their safety checks and had a chat while we were waiting for the show to start.

There was a slight breeze and a small rain cloud. The wind was blowing from left to right at an angle slightly towards us.

Before the display started it started to rain, but fortunately it didn’t last long.

When the display finally started it was nice, gentle and quiet with lots of colour at first. Then it became self-evident that the wind had slightly changed direction. It was now blowing a slight breeze towards us. The smoke was bearable at first, but it did obscure some of the fireworks. As the display got more intense, so did the smoke. The children started to cough and were trying to wave away the smoke. The cascade of sparks swirling and exploding was now almost above us.

The smoke got even thicker and there was a shout from one of the children to the right of our group as the hot ash had got into her eye. Almost as a chain reaction there was another yell from behind me, then several more from my group, as well as other people who cried out from random places in the crowd. Fortunately nothing serious and no burns. I didn’t get any ash in my eyes, but it was easy to see why some did. It was just like being caught in a snow shower, we were all coated in particles of ash.

We enjoyed the display, especially the children, who fortunately weren’t put off by the negative events, and were all thankful to Delphi for the display.

We all agreed that because the wind changed direction slightly the barriers were too close to the display not only for the smoke obscuring the display but on a health and safety point. No-one should have been injured, no matter how slight.

S SHEPPARD

St Andrew’s Road

Great Cornard