Sudbury council apologises after woman injured by rogue firework at annual public display

A woman was injured when a rogue firework malfunctioned and sent embers flying into the crowd at a public display in Sudbury.

Thousands of spectators were watching Sudbury Town Council’s annual display in the grounds of the Delphi Centre on Sunday, when the incident took place.

The woman suffered minor injuries and was treated by paramedics on site.

Another spectator captured the footage on his mobile phone when the embers from the firework dispersed into the crowd.

“There was a lot of screaming as people moved out of the way,” he said.

People posted their experiences on social media.

Faye Cichon wrote on Facebook: “It landed on my daughter’s coat. God knows what would happened if I hadn’t noticed it.”

In a statement, Sudbury Town Council apologised for the incident, which it said would be fully investigated.

The company responsible for supplying the fireworks is currently working with the local authority to establish the cause of the malfunction.

“We can assure you that we take health and safety at all our events extremely seriously and that all safety procedures were followed for this event,” said the council in a statement.

The authority said the fireworks were stopped while fire crews were informed of the malfunction.

“The fireworks are ignited in sets and not individually, which is why the crowd may not have seen an immediate reaction,” it said.

Paramedics assisted those who required treatment, while the crowd was instructed to move further away from the display.

The council confirmed that there was one reported firework-related injury, which was categorised as minor.

All safety measures were in place prior to the event, with the fireworks angled away from the crowd, and safety boards installed, the council said.

Crowd control barriers were positioned at a distance, which exceeded the safety recommendation.

The council disputed comments on social media that there had been a sudden surge of people leaving the event after the incident.

“Members of the public and staff at the exits have confirmed this was not the case,” added the council this week.