6 firework safety films that terrified children of the 70s, 80s and 90s, from comic duo to EastEnders star

• Public information films used to warn us about the dangers of fireworks around Bonfire Night
• Some were particularly scary, haunting the nightmares of those who grew up watching them in the 70s, 80s and 90s
• Below are some of the most memorable

Before firework laws were tightened in the late 90s and noughties, the powers that be took a different approach to keeping children safe.

It is now illegal to sell ‘adult’ fireworks to anyone under the age of 18, while some of the most dangerous fireworks of yesteryear, including mortar shells, mini-rockets and firecrackers, have been banned.

There was a time in the 50s and 60s when children would push a straw effigy of Guy Fawkes around the streets, requesting a ‘penny for the guy’, before spending the money they collected on fireworks.

The laws around fireworks remained relatively lax in the 70s, 80s and early 90s, when the powers that be attempted to scare children into staying safe around Bonfire Night through a series of terrifying public information videos.

Firework: Eyes video haunted children’s nightmares

In the 70s, one of the most memorable of these short films was Firework: Eyes, a 1974 masterpiece from the Central Office of Information, which is still seared into the memory of a generation of children who grew up watching it.

It tells of a child whose life was forever changed when a firework was thrown and ‘blew up in his face’.

The film then shows a group of eerily still children with their backs to the camera, as the narrator continues: “Somewhere there are other children whose lives are going to be changed.”

The narrator’s voice takes on an unsettling echoey tone, as he asks: “Will one of them be your child?”

One of the children turns around, revealing a pair of dark sunglasses, as the message ‘take care with fireworks’ flashes up on the screen.

Rewatching the video many years later, one person commented: “This was so scary when I was little and still is.”

EastEnders’ Kathy grills youngsters

Another notable video from the 70s features a young Gillian Taylforth, who would go on to play Kathy Beale in EastEnders.

She’s seen interviewing fellow youths who share their horror stories of fireworks disasters, including how one boy ended up in hospital after someone set alight a stash of bangers that were sticking out of his pocket.

“What’s so big about lighting bangers in someone’s pocket?” she challenges one of the interviewees, who is stunned into silence.

That same child then turns to the camera and says: “They really can hurt, bangers and rockets.”

‘What a silly girl’

This simple but effective public information film from 1976 shows a mother out with her traumatised young daughter, whose hand had been badly burned on Bonfire Night.

Recounting to a friend how it happened, the mum explained how she ‘thought we were ever so careful’ when it came to taking safety precautions.

But the girl is seen in a flashback video screaming in agony as she picks up a still red-hot used sparkler.

The mother looks down at her child and says, in a slightly menacing tone, lacking any empathy: “What a silly girl, then.”

The miserable-looking girl then holds her heavily bandaged hand up, as the narrator warns other parents: “Make sure your child doesn’t start November 6 like this... or worse.”

Don’t be a dummy

This 1988 fireworks safety film remains a chilling watch nearly 40 years later.

Suspenseful music plays as a firework is placed in a clamp, aimed at a dummy and lit.

Close-ups of the dummy’s face are then interspersed with shots of various real children before one of those youngsters closes his eyes as the firework explodes.

Another child then yells: “Don’t be a dummy! Don’t throw fireworks.”

Don’t be flash with fireworks

This ad seemed terribly futuristic back in the 80s but hasn’t aged particularly well.

It is narrated by a strange, computerised figure with a see-through glowing green grid for a body, within which fireworks are seen exploding.

The video cuts to footage of some yobs lobbing fireworks towards a group of passing girls.

When a firework fails to go off, a boy attempts to relight it, only to be saved from harm by his digitised guardian angel.

As the youngster asks ‘who are you?’, the character reminds him of the firework code, saying: “Don’t go back to duds.”

He then adds: “It’s not the fireworks that are dangerous, it’s the people who mess about with them. Do me a favour, go to a real display this year.”

The short film ends with the message: “Don’t be flash with fireworks.”

Hale and Pace

Gareth Hale and Norman Pace were one of the best-loved comedy double acts of the late 80s and 90s.

Among the most famous sketches on their long-running ITV show Hale and Pace were those featuring the Two Rons, a pair of stone-faced bouncers also known as The Management.

Such was their popularity, the Two Rons were chosen to help drill home the message about firework safety around Bonfire Night each year during the late 80s and early 90s.

One of these films shows the smartly-dressed pair approach holding a sparkler and in an intimidating voice telling viewers: “If you mess with fireworks, we won’t be coming round to see you, because you’re probably in hospital already.”

They go on to warn people that playing with fireworks in the street could land them with a fine of up to £2,000 or a spell in prison.

They add: “If you don’t follow the code, fireworks can maim or even kill you. A bit like Ron ‘ere. Follow the fireworks code, by order of The Management.”

While Hale and Pace have largely disappeared from the nation’s TV screens, many people who grew up watching them still remember the firework safety videos in which they starred.

Do you remember watching public information films when you grew up, and are there any you found particularly scary?

Perhaps it was Lonely Water, memorably voiced by Donald Pleasence, which features in our look back at some of the mysteries of life in the 70s and 80s.