A national campaign is asking people hosting private displays to consider how their fireworks affect neighbours, vulnerable people and animals.

People planning private firework displays are being urged to consider the wider community as part of a new national safety campaign.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has launched its ‘Think beyond your garden. Know your impact’ campaign, which runs across England and Wales from today (15 October) until 10 November.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the effect fireworks can have on others, alongside a series of tips for those lighting the blue touchpaper during the busiest weeks of the firework season, including Bonfire Night on 5 November and Diwali on 8 November.

While many people will understand the rules around the safe use of fireworks, the campaign encourages them to think about the impact on neighbours, as well as pets and other animals.

Unexpected fireworks can be particularly difficult for some people, including veterans living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), people with anxiety or dementia, and autistic people and children with sensory sensitivities.

Advice from OPSS includes choosing fireworks that are appropriate for the setting, letting neighbours know in advance and thinking about people who may have work or school the next day.

Before buying, the public is asked to check the category of firework and the safety distance it requires, and to make sure their garden or space is big enough.

Once the display is over, OPSS advises waiting until everything is completely cool, then soaking spent fireworks and debris in water overnight before bagging and disposing of them appropriately.

The campaign also reminds people of the law on when fireworks can be set off. Fireworks must not be used between 11pm and 7am, except on Bonfire Night, when the cut off is midnight, and on New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, when the cut off is 1am.

OPSS stresses that the curfew is the legal limit, not the target.

The organisation has produced a stakeholder toolkit for this firework season containing a series of social media posts offering helpful advice, with Welsh language versions also available. The campaign hashtag is #KnowYourImpact.

More information on the law around fireworks is available at www.gov.uk/fireworks-the-law.