Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe LONDON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- British officials Monday started banning youths under 18 from having fireworks in a public place, the BBC reported Monday. The new law is intended to drive "loutish behavior" associated with their use off the street, Consumer Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said. Advertisement Other measures, including curfews on firework use, take effect next year. Members of the public are also barred from possessing high-powered "category four" fireworks of the type used in professional displays. Increasing fireworks-related crime has prompted some senior police officers to call for a total ban on the sale of fireworks. Councils around the country receive thousands of complaints and more than 1,000 people are injured by fireworks annually.
