Children injured after fireworks ‘explode in crowd’ at cricket club display
Children are among several people who were injured after fireworks suddenly exploded into a huge crowd at a display in Staffordshire.
Thousands were in attendance at the Bonfire Night event at Stone Swynnerton Park Cricket Club when it went horribly wrong on Friday night.
One eyewitness captured the terrifying incident which reportedly left at least six people hurt by the uncontrollable pyrotechnics.
Panicked screams of ‘oh my god’ could be heard coming from the crowds as dozens of fireworks detonated and shot out in all different directions.
Pictures taken in the aftermath showed paramedics wheeling away some of the injured on stretchers.
Petrified children as young as five were hit by rogue fireworks, while other kids narrowly avoided being struck, according to eyewitnesses.
After a brief pause to make an announcement requesting first aid, half the crowd of around 3,000 walked out.
But many were left completely shocked that the display somehow still continued afterwards.
One stunned onlooker, who was filming when the incident happened, said they ‘instantly heard screams’.
They said: ‘I saw something hit the floor and had this instinctive feeling something wasn’t going to go right.
‘All you could hear was screaming after that. After it happened, everything froze. We didn’t know what was going on.
‘Half the crowd left. But then the fireworks started going off again. We thought “how can they continue with the display after what happened” and we took the kids and left.’
Other visitors also took to social media to express their horror at the events.
One woman wrote: ‘My son took some of a rogue firework to the chin. He’s five.
‘He was terrified. Such a shame. Can’t fault the first aiders. I can’t believe they carried on either.’
Another said: ‘It was horrible, we left straight after that happened.’
And another added: ‘We left after a stray firework flew past my son and nephew’s face. We grabbed them and left.’
Both Stone Swynnerton Park Cricket Club and firework managers Monumental Fireworks refused to comment when approached on Saturday.
The ambulance service has been contacted for comment, while Staffordshire Police said its officers did not attend the incident.
Earlier this week, a truck carrying fireworks was involved in a crash, sparking a huge explosion.
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