The devastating effects of fireworks on animals: A horse spooked to death and the campaign to change Bonfire Night
Pet owners are gearing up for a stressful time for both themselves and their animals as fireworks season begins.
With bonfire night and Diwali in October and November, followed not long afterwards by New Year’s Eve, there is little respite from the bangs and vibrations that can have devastating effects on animals.
People suffer as well as pets, Julie Doorne from Firework Campaign UK told Sky News.
Pet owners will avoid leaving their animals at home alone for months on end, or use up annual leave to take them away.
“People’s lives change” due to fireworks, she said.
The campaign wants an end to private fireworks. Ms Doorne says they’re not trying to cancel Bonfire Night or any other celebrations – but they want displays licenced and kept a certain distance from animals.
Jade, with Liberty and Emma after her fall
‘I will never see her again’
Liberty, an 18-year-old from Winterbourne, has recently lost her horse Jade due to fireworks.
Jade was Liberty’s therapy horse, who helped her with anxiety, and was a gift from her friend Emma.
“Jade taught me everything. My first canter, my first gallop, she gave me the confidence in everything,” Liberty said.
“She knew when I was upset. If she heard me cry she would stand over me. When I was feeling down she would nudge me. She knew when I was at my lowest.”
In October, Jade got spooked by a firework that was let off near the field she was in.
She ran and hurt her back legs in the process. Despite Liberty trying to get her up, it was clear she wasn’t going to.
“She tried but she didn’t have the strength and in the end, she gave up,” Liberty said.
Jade had to be put to sleep.
Liberty said: “My heart is ripped apart. She was my best friend and soulmate.
“I will always remember the lowest of my days when she wouldn’t leave my side … I have no words but heartache and tears.”
“I want the whole world to know that Jadey was my life.”
Liberty wants to see a ban on setting off fireworks around livestock.
Jade would have “been here today if it wasn’t for the firework,” Liberty said.
“I will never see her again.”
Nala gets very distressed around fireworks
‘Driving to the middle of the New Forest for quiet’
Rosemary, from Hampshire, has a 10-year-old horse called Rolo – and Nala, an 11-year-old working cocker spaniel.
To prepare Rolo for the fireworks, Rosemary plans to put boots on him to stop him from kicking himself and keep him in his stable.
This is the first fireworks season she’s experienced with Rolo, so she plans to “take a leap of faith” and hope he copes well.
But Nala gets very distressed.
“She barks to the point that one New Year’s Eve I drove out to the middle of the New Forest to get her as far away from the noise as possible,” Rosemary said.
She added she is forced to change her routine when she knows there may be fireworks.
“I can’t leave her on the weekend of Bonfire Night. I will always be making a decision on ‘If we go out, can I take her?’ – but we have to endure it when it’s unexpected.”
Nelly the Boston, with her cat sisters Poppy and Pixie
‘We’re worried the stress will shorten her life’
Matt Wilke, 36, from northwest London, has a Boston terrier called Nelly, and two cats, Pixie and Poppy.
All three are rescues from South Africa, and he said the journey to bring them to the UK during the pandemic was nowhere near as stressful as fireworks are for them.
“Pixie becomes incredibly skittish and just about hyperventilates. It is absolutely horrible seeing a cat having what looks like an asthma attack and being very frightened,” he explained.
Poppy does her best to try to hide, which is worrying because “she tries squeezing herself into the smallest of spaces and we’re always so worried she will hurt herself”.
Mike also worries Poppy will “get stuck somewhere or – in a panic to find somewhere – get out and run without any idea of where she’s trying to go”.
Nelly becomes very needy, constantly vigilant and frightened of going outside.
Matt said the effects on Nelly can last for days after the fireworks have stopped.
“This undue stress simply isn’t good for her and we’re constantly worried that the stress, especially as she gets older, could shorten her life.”
Pip, an elderly dog with a fragile heart
Jane has an elderly dog called Pip.
Pip “has been petrified of fireworks all his life”, she said.
Jane added: “Every year we spend about two weeks around bonfire night unable to sleep until late as he needs comforting because he gets so worked up and frightened when he hears them going off.
“We are dreading this year as he now has a heart condition which means he collapses if he gets highly stressed or excited.
“So we feel we have no alternative but to drive us all out into the country for a few hours to get away from the relentless sound of bombs going off.
“If we don’t I fear he will have a heart attack.”
Messi was so scared by fireworks he woudn’t go outside
Could Australian-style ban work in the UK?
Dog owner Jane Price recalled stressful bonfire nights with her Cairn terrier Messi.
“He would bark and get very upset,” she said.
“He wouldn’t even go outside, he was worried there was going to be another bang.”
Ms Price is originally from Australia, where there’s a ban on members of the public buying fireworks.
There’s merit to that rule, she said.
In the UK, fireworks can be sold between 15 October and 10 November for Bonfire Night and from 26 to 31 December for New Year celebrations.
They can also be sold in the three days leading up to Chinese New Year and Diwali.
But many pet owners would welcome Australian-style restrictions in the UK.
Cody gets very agitated and scared when she hears the loud bangs of fireworks
‘It’s really difficult to calm and console’
Another concerned animal lover – Di – told Sky News her border collie cross, Cody, is “absolutely terrified” of fireworks.
“This appears to be getting worse as she grows older,” Di said.
She added: “Her reaction to them is to bark continuously, pant and pace and it is really difficult to calm and console her.
“This reaction can continue for a good while after the fireworks have subsided.”
Vet says fireworks ‘totally cruel’ to animals
The run-up to bonfire night and New Year’s Eve sees a surge of people seeking sedatives for their pets, a north London vet told Sky News.
“One month before firework night, people are coming in one after the other to get calming remedies for their pets,” she says.
Fireworks displays are “totally cruel” to animals, who have “very sensitive hearing”, she added.
“They’re put under stress and anxiety that can sometimes cause illnesses like alopecia from over-grooming themselves due to stress.”
About 14 million people in the UK attend organised firework displays each year, according to the British Pyrotechnics Association – but that number does not include fireworks set off in private gardens and fields across the country.
These displays are the real problem, according to some pet owners.
Call for organised fireworks events only
Sophie Gannon’s dog Barclay is “petrified by the noise” and “shakes” on hearing fireworks.
“I don’t think they should sell fireworks at all. I think it should just be organised events only,” she tells Sky News.
The RSPCA receives about 400 calls from concerned pet owners every bonfire night, and in 2019 launched its Bang Out Of Order campaign, calling for changes to firework laws.
It wants the sale of fireworks restricted to between 29 October and 5 November and a reduction of the maximum noise level of fireworks from 120 decibels to 90 decibels.
The animal charity has also called for the implementation of firework control zones, prohibiting fireworks near animal habitats, farms and zoos.
The charity’s research shows 73% of adults polled think firework control zones should be introduced and 75% think the firework sale period should be limited.
What are the rules as they stand?
The Animal Welfare Act does not extend to protecting animals from the effects of fireworks.
While it prohibits “any unnecessary suffering to a captive or domestic animal”, if fireworks are let off legally, their use would not be considered unreasonable.
Scotland’s fireworks laws changed in June, giving councils the power to designate Firework Control Zones where it would be illegal to set off fireworks. The impact on animals is one reason why a council could grant a control zone.
In Northern Ireland, anyone who wants to buy, possess, and use fireworks (except indoor fireworks and sparklers) must have a valid fireworks licence.
In 2019, the House of Commons petition committee published a report on fireworks after more than 750,000 people signed a petition demanding a change to the laws.
In response, the government agreed to coordinate a major public awareness campaign, but stopped short of accepting recommendations – including introducing decibel limits and empowering local councils to enforce firework permits.
Another petition calling for tougher regulations gained more than 15,000 signatures in advance of this year’s Bonfire Night.
The government responded by saying it has “no plans to ban the sale of fireworks to the public but continues to monitor the situation”.
A government spokesperson added: “We believe the majority of individuals use fireworks safely and appropriately.
“The government understands that people want to enjoy fireworks. We believe that the legislative framework controlling fireworks strikes the right balance and we have no plans to replace it at this time.”
WARNING: This article contains language and content some readers may find distressing
As a single mum, Lucy* looked forward to her rare nights out. A few years ago, during after-work drinks at a local pub, she started feeling unwell. When she collapsed and passed out, a bouncer called an ambulance. Lucy’s drink had been spiked.
The ambulance was crewed by two paramedics, a man and a woman. Still unconscious, Lucy was placed on a stretcher, strapped on to the bed, and driven towards the hospital.
After a scary episode, Lucy’s friends must have breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe, and being looked after. But, as the female ambulance driver looked in her rear-view mirror to check on Lucy, she says she saw the unimaginable – her male colleague sexually assaulting his patient.
Lucy still doesn’t remember what happened, but she has the police report and crime scene pictures of the inside of the ambulance.
Pointing to a photo of where she was strapped down, she says almost matter-of-factly: “He put my legs up, so my knees were up, and put his hand inside my groin area – possibly touching my vagina.”
When she regained consciousness, she was told what had happened to her. Years later, she is still struggling to process it.
The paramedic denied the charges and was found not guilty at trial, but later struck off by the paramedics’ regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
They have a lower standard of proof than the criminal courts, and found against him, calling him a “serious threat to patient safety”.
Lucy still wouldn’t feel safe getting into an ambulance today. “It’s awful, you feel so violated and vulnerable,” she says.
“It’s a shock to think someone in that position would do that, when they’re supposed to be there to look after you.”
Her story is horrific, but Lucy is not alone. It forms part of a year-long Sky News investigation into sexual misconduct in the ambulance service, which has revealed a culture where abuse and harassment among staff are rife and patients are sexualised.
A senior ambulance boss admits the service has “let victims down”, while stressing that perpetrators are the “minority”.
Jason Killens, head of the Welsh Ambulance Service and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, says he expects “a steady increase” in the number of cases, with more paramedics being sacked for sexually inappropriate behaviour over the coming years, because of the work his organisation is doing to change the culture.
Data shared with Sky News shows one in five of the sexual misconduct complaints made against paramedics to their regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council, in 2023 were for acts against patients or members of the public.
While fewer than 1% of all HCPC members had concerns raised against them last year, in sexual misconduct cases, paramedics were hugely over-represented.
They make up just 11% of the HCPC register, but account for 64% of all investigations into sexual harassment against colleagues. The regulator’s chair, Christine Elliot, thinks the sexual misconduct cases are “just the tip of the iceberg”.
“This is all about patient safety,” she says. “Patients need to know when they see a practitioner, they can rely on them giving the best care possible with the best behaviour possible.”
‘Totally unnecessary breast examinations’
Cases like Lucy’s are rare but several whistleblowers across multiple trusts have spoken up about a culture in which “banter” or jokes about groping patients are commonplace.
Current and former paramedics claim to have heard patients, particularly young women, being sexualised by the men who had helped to treat or even save them.
One former paramedic revealed the phrase “totally unnecessary breast examinations” (or TUBEs), and said she had heard paramedics talking about “TUBEing” young, drunk women. She also claims to have seen a colleague grope another colleague’s breasts, telling her: “I just TUBEed you.”
A second woman said the same phenomenon was called “jazz hands” in her trust. Both said these were widely understood phrases which referred to colleagues accidentally, or deliberately, touching a woman’s breast during treatment.
A third paramedic told us she’d heard colleagues talk about patients in an explicitly sexual manner, saying things like: “She had nice tits” or “those were silicone”, while bragging about getting a patient’s number and having a “good feel”.
“That is assault. That is sexual assault,” she says.
‘It will be fun. Your career will progress’
“One of my biggest fears was that I wouldn’t be believed because of where I worked. It was the ambulance service and he was the man in charge,” says Ellie*, whose first job was as a call handler in an ambulance control room.
She loved the camaraderie and the idea that she was making a difference. Until one day, the manager called her into his office and invited her to a conference with him. At first, she was flattered and a little confused.
“He explained that he’d taken a liking to me and then he reached out and touched my leg.” Shocked, Ellie froze. “I was in my early 20s and didn’t know what his intention was. I was a bit naive, probably.” As he carried on talking, her boss slid his hand “as far up my thigh as it could go”.
Horrified, she shot back in her chair and asked him what he was doing.
“If you come, we’ll share a room. It will be fun. Your career will progress,” her boss replied.
“No,” she exclaimed, rushing out the room in a panic. Back at her desk, she carried on taking 999 calls while he watched over her.
Then she claims the messages started: “They were photos of his private parts, as well as messages suggesting meeting in the car park for sex and saying he wanted to kiss me. A whole manner of very descriptive sexual actions that he said he wanted to do with me.”
The messages carried on “for months”, she says, despite her pleading with him to stop. She was left dreading going to work for fear of seeing him, and avoided going to the toilet in case she ran into him in the corridor.
Eventually she showed the messages to HR, she says, but claims they suggested moving her to a different office. He wouldn’t be punished.
“It was sexual harassment,” Ellie says, caught between anger and despair. “They didn’t do anything. There was no investigation. No meeting with him that I’m aware of. No statement from me. Nothing. I was the problem.”
She eventually quit the service, but alleges he still works there to this day, an injustice that “makes me feel sick” she says.
An NHS England spokesperson said new national guidance and training has been recently introduced “to stamp out this awful behaviour”.
“Any abuse or violence directed at NHS staff is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated, and the NHS is committed to tackling unwanted, inappropriate or harmful sexual behaviour in the workplace. We have recently introduced new national guidance and training that will help staff recognise, report and act on sexual misconduct at work to stamp out this awful behaviour,” they said.
‘We failed those individuals… I’m sorry’
Ellie’s story is simply “not right”, says ambulance boss Mr Killens.
“We failed those individuals,” he admits, saying “I’m sorry” to both staff and patients who have “been subject to poor behaviour from our people”.
Work is being done, he says, to tackle this kind of behaviour, citing it as his, and his organisation’s, top priority.
That will involve rooting out the perpetrators, but also playing the “long game” to change the culture “so that we can begin to tackle low level misconduct or inappropriate behaviour early, rather than let it fester and get worse,” he says.
According to the HCPC’s chair, cultural change is needed from leadership down. Sexual harassment, Elliot says, needs to be treated as high a priority as “waiting times and crumbling hospitals”.
Read more from this investigation:
Life as a female paramedic
‘Toxic’ culture of harassment revealed
But many of the victims we have spoken to say the HCPC takes too long (an average of three years) to investigate misconduct allegations.
Elliot agrees that isn’t good enough, but says they are running initiatives to speed things up, and wants to see legislative change to give her organisation more power to speed up investigations.
They have also created a sexual safety hub for both victims and witnesses of inappropriate behaviour.
It can be hard to hear allegations like Lucy and Ellie’s, contrasting their stories with a service in which the majority of people are dedicated to saving lives.
But it’s also clear that for far too long, abusers and those who commit sexually inappropriate behaviour have operated with impunity in the ambulance service. Some were perhaps protected by allegiances or cover-ups, many others simply hid behind the veneer of “banter”.
Ambulance and NHS bosses have made it clear to Sky News they are determined to root out not just the perpetrators of serious sexual violence, but also to stamp out the culture that breeds this behaviour.
But in the meantime women like Lucy, Ellie and countless others won’t hear an ambulance siren and feel safe, telling us they would even struggle to dial 999 in the case of a medical emergency.
*names have been changed
Illustrations by Rebecca Hendin
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Consumer rights group Which? is suing Apple for £3bn over the way it deploys the iCloud.
If the lawsuit succeeds, around 40 million Apple customers in the UK could be entitled to a payout.
The lawsuit claims Apple, which controls iOS operating systems, has breached UK competition law by giving its iCloud storage preferential treatment, effectively “trapping” customers with Apple devices into using it.
It also claims the company overcharged those customers by stifling competition.
The rights group alleges Apple encouraged users to sign up to iCloud for storage of photos, videos and other data while simultaneously making it difficult to use alternative providers.
Which? says Apple doesn’t allow customers to store or back-up all of their phone’s data with a third-party provider, arguing this violates competition law.
The consumer rights group says once iOS users have signed up to iCloud, they then have to pay for the service once their photos, notes, messages and other data go over the free 5GB limit.
“By bringing this claim, Which? is showing big corporations like Apple that they cannot rip off UK consumers without facing repercussions,” said Which?’s chief executive Anabel Hoult.
“Taking this legal action means we can help consumers to get the redress that they are owed, deter similar behaviour in the future and create a better, more competitive market.”
Apple ‘rejects’ claims and will defend itself
Apple “rejects” the idea its customers are tied to using iCloud and told Sky News it would “vigorously” defend itself.
“Apple believes in providing our customers with choices,” a spokesperson said.
“Our users are not required to use iCloud, and many rely on a wide range of third-party alternatives for data storage. In addition, we work hard to make data transfer as easy as possible – whether it’s to iCloud or another service.
“We reject any suggestion that our iCloud practices are anti-competitive and will vigorously defend against any legal claim otherwise.”
It also said nearly half of its customers don’t use iCloud and its pricing is inline with other cloud storage providers.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
How much could UK Apple customers receive if lawsuit succeeds?
The lawsuit will represent all UK Apple customers that have used iCloud services since 1 October 2015 – any that don’t want to be included will need to opt out.
However, if consumers live abroad but are otherwise eligible – for example because they lived in UK and used the iCloud but then moved away – they can also opt in.
The consumer rights group estimates that individual consumers could be owed an average of £70, depending on how long they have been paying for the services during that period.
Apple is facing a similar lawsuit in the US, where the US Department of Justice is accusing the company of locking down its iPhone ecosystem to build a monopoly.
Apple said the lawsuit is “wrong on the facts and the law” and that it will vigorously defend against it.
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Big tech’s battles
This is the latest in a line of challenges big tech companies like Apple, Google and Samsung have faced around anti-competitive practices.
Most notably, a landmark case in the US earlier this year saw a judge rule that Google holds an illegal monopoly over the internet search market.
The company is now facing a second antitrust lawsuit, and may be forced to break up parts of its business.
Read more: Google faces threat of being broken up
File pic: Reuters
And in December last year, a judge declared Google’s Android app store a monopoly in a case brought by a private gaming company.
“Now that five companies control the whole of the internet economy, there’s a real need for people to fight back and to really put pressure on the government,” William Fitzgerald, from tech campaigning organisation The Worker Agency, told Sky News.
William Fitzgerald at Lisbon’s Web Summit, where he spoke to Sky News
“That’s why we have governments; to hold corporations accountable, to actually enforce laws.”
UK
Referees’ body taking ‘very seriously’ video that appears to show David Coote snorting white powder
A video appearing to show a Premier League referee snorting white powder is being taken “very seriously” by the referees’ body.
Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) suspended David Coote on Monday over derogatory comments he allegedly made about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and the club in previous footage.
PGMOL and the Football Association are investigating Coote who, it is alleged, used an expletive to describe Klopp and called Liverpool FC “shit”.
Now it has emerged the UEFA Referees Committee also suspended Coote until further notice on Monday, ahead of the upcoming round of UEFA matches “when it became aware of his inappropriate behaviour”, it said.
On Wednesday evening, another video appeared on The Sun’s website which it said showed Coote snorting white powder during this summer’s Euros in Germany, where he was officiating.
A PGMOL spokesperson said: “We are aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously. David Coote remains suspended pending a full investigation.
“David’s welfare continues to be of utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing necessary support he needs through this period. We are not in a position to comment further at this stage.”
The Sun said the video was filmed on 6 July, the day after the Euro 2024 quarter-final clash between Portugal and France, for which Coote was an assistant VAR.
A statement from UEFA said: “The UEFA Referees Committee immediately suspended David Coote until further notice on 11 November – in advance of the upcoming round of UEFA matches – when it became aware of his inappropriate behaviour.”
David Coote. File pic: PA
The previous video footage, appearing to show Coote making derogatory remarks about Klopp and the Anfield club, began circulating online on Monday.
He was subsequently suspended by PGMOL pending a full investigation, and the FA then said it was also investigating the matter.
Coote officiated Liverpool’s most recent Premier League game – a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday night.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
He was criticised by some fans after Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was brought down by Aston Villa player Leon Bailey.
Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez went on to score after play wasn’t stopped – but a replay showed Coote had chosen not to stop the game because he believed the challenge on Salah wasn’t a foul rather than because he wanted the Reds to keep their advantage.
The PA news agency has approached the FA for comment regarding the Sun’s story.
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