Firework was thrown through letterbox
7:04am Monday 29th October 2007 in News
A FIREWORK was thrown through the letterbox of a house while a family was sleeping in their beds.
The family at their home in Denholm Road, Park South, were woken by the sound of the rocket exploding in the kitchen at about 1am yesterday.
As smoke filled the downstairs, the female resident managed to get four children to safety and ask a neighbour to dial 999.
By the time firefighters arrived sparks from the firework had gone out, but the family was left scared and shaken by the ordeal.
Neighbour Jean Hobbs said: "They threw the firework through the letterbox and it went right through to the kitchen. The place filled up with smoke.
"We were woken when the fire brigade turned up and could hear all this noise and lights coming in the front windows.
"The problem is it is open at the front here so it wouldn't take a minute for whoever did it to scarper."
Parks and Walcot neighbourhood policing manager PC Billy O'Sullivan said this was exactly the sort of behaviour officers working on Operation Damage were trying to prevent in the run up to Halloween and Bonfire Night.
PC O'Sullivan and a team of officers were patrolling known trouble spots in the Parks on Saturday night to urge revellers to respect their neighbours' peace and warned incidents involving fireworks would be taken seriously.
"This is one of those times of year when there are always people who go a bit too far. PCSOs have been given power to issue tickets to people using fireworks in a dangerous way. Police officers will be issuing tickets for public order offences to reduce the threat to people wanting to enjoy a peaceful Halloween."
Officers out between 7pm and 4am on Saturday night also recorded the names and addresses of people spotted in known anti-social behaviour trouble spots.
"In terms of anti-social behaviour, it is better to be on hand to prevent any trouble before it happens," said PC O'Sullivan.
A Denholm Road resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I called the fire engine out, then took the children into my house while the fire brigade dealt with it.
"There never used to be much trouble in this street, but there have been a few things in the last few weeks. Some kids knocked the tiles off my wall."
A spokeswoman for Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said: "A crew was sent out from Swindon fire station and in attendance at 12.39am. On arrival it was discovered a firework had been put through the door. The property was inspected. The incident was left in the hands of the police."
Anyone with any information on the incident can contact Swindon police on 0845 408 7000.
