Mum killed by fireworks posted through her letterbox by teens as son demands ban

The son of an elderly woman who tragically died due to a firework incident has demanded a ban on  fireworks, except for four specific dates. Josephine Smith, 88, succumbed to smoke inhalation after a firework was maliciously posted through her letterbox by two teenagers. 

Callum Dunne, then 15, and Kai Cooper, then 18, had been throwing fireworks at drivers and businesses in Harold Wood, East London, before targeting Josephine’s home. Hard of hearing, Josephine remained asleep in her Romford, Essex home and was later found dead from smoke inhalation.

The teenagers were found guilty of manslaughter, with Dunne receiving a sentence of three years and eight months, while Cooper was given five years. Alan Smith, 55, Josephine’s son, has initiated a petition to change the laws surrounding the sale and use of fireworks.

He proposes that they should only be available around November 5, December 25 and 31, and Diwali, and advocates for a ban on garden boxes under £50. The fireworks used in the fatal incident were sold to the boys by Mark Vardy, 59, in October 2021, who supplied them despite knowing they intended to throw them at people.

CCTV footage from ‘Fireworks 4 U’ shows Vardy suggesting they purchase ‘air bombs’ after one of the teenagers mentioned plans to throw fireworks at police. Vardy, from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, received a 12-month suspended sentence earlier this month after admitting to two counts of selling fireworks to a 15 year old. 

Alan Vardy, a London fuel tanker driver, has spoken out after his home was devastated by a fire caused by fireworks. The blaze claimed his mother’s life and destroyed much of their property in Harold Wood. He stated: “You can light fireworks from 7am to 11pm year-round.”

He went on to express frustration at the widespread misuse of fireworks: “There’s so much hatred around fireworks but largely that’s because they are used year round.” On specified events for firework usage, he suggested, “Even for the fireworks industry’s sake, if they were limited to those events, they wouldn’t be getting as much grief.”

Advocating for more regulated enjoyment, he added: “People can then enjoy them when they’re meant to be used and they shouldn’t be as readily available.”

Reflecting on the tragic incident, Alan recalled, “The whole home was ignited and smouldered for some time, the firework landed on her washing basket and it was the smoke that took Mum’s life sadly.” He described the extent of the damage: “It took 60 to 70 per cent of the house from the inside.”

His petition targeting firework reforms has garnered over 64,000 signatures and demands changes including the times of the year fireworks can be set off. Mr. Vardy further calls for mandatory Challenge 25 for firework purchases, a minimum value of £50 for garden display boxes, and stricter licensing for firework sales.

He lamented the current lax regulations: “Challenge 25 is not a compulsory thing even which the sales of alcohol.” Sharing a motive for change, he concluded with a message highlighting responsibility: “The lads that bought the fireworks, one of them was 15 and he was able to buy them so easily.”

His goal is to restore a sense of tradition: “So I want to encourage it to be more of a family thing as it was years ago.”

“Again, if the individual fireworks that were bought were a minimum sale of £50 and display boxes only that would have prevented those fireworks from being used in the way they were.

“The shop’s salesperson says to Cooper and Dunne in the CCTV that you can hold them and throw them and that’s what’s haunted me most. The two boys when they bought the fireworks clearly stated in CCTV that they wanted to throw them at police and terrorise people – that’s the thing that’s haunted us more than anything. So we need proper training and better education for store staff.

“Tighter checks on the legislation would be great – it’s becoming a bit blasé on the way it’s being handled. My mum was a lovely woman – immaculately turned out and a beautiful lady and the idea of the petition is just trying to find things that would prevent what happened to mum from happening to others.”

You can find more about Alan’s petition here.