Shop windows have been smashed, homes set alight and even terrified passersby hit by firesworks on an estate in Manchester described by neighbours as a war zone.
Children as young as 10 are involved in hurling the fireworks into neighbours gardens – with one boy forced to hand-write a letter to say sorry last year.
He had set off a firework that hit a disabled man in his wheelchair and wrote to claim he was influenced by his mates to do something dangerous, promising never to do it again.
His victim Dave Clayton, who was 24 at the time, had been on his way home from college with a carer when he came under fire.
People living in streets surrounding Ashton St Peters, in Tameside, Manchester say that Diwali, Halloween and Bonfire night spark three months of hell that ends after New Year.
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Often the fireworks are bought before they legally go on sale, from people who sell them from their car boots.
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Aimee Henderson, 23, said her and her baby daughter had been targeted on several occasions over the last three years – once when she was seven months pregnant.
I was going to meet my midwife. They were messing with the fireworks, they saw me and started firing them towards me, Aimee told the Manchester Evening News.
I told them I was pregnant, shouted at them to stop, but they didnt. I had to run.
She says she was also fired at as she pushed her little girl in her pram
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It is happening every year and it is beyond a joke, Aimee added.
It isnt safe and as soon as school finished you cant leave the house. I wont walk anywhere now.
Maggie Austin, 50, ended up in hospital last year after being attacked outside her home by teenagers she had confronted about playing with fireworks.
Some nights its non-stop, one after another, she told MEN.
We are waiting for it to get worse, we know it is going to. It happens every year, October, November, December – its like living in hell.
In the latest incident on Sunday night, a stray firework went through the bedroom window of a young family, setting fire to the bed and causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.
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Luckily the family escaped unharmed.
Greater Manchester Police held a public meeting on Monday to discuss what could be done this year – but were criticised by those in the community.
Tameside inspector Lee Derbyshire said efforts to bring anti-social behaviour in the town had seen some positive results.
We feel for the people here, and we would love to provide them with the resources, troops out there getting hold of these offenders, and we are doing the best we can with what we have, he told the MEN.
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