Foxdale resident Judy Corrin is calling for a ban on the sale of fireworks following a recent display at a neighbour’s property which traumatised her donkey, Teddy.

’It was like a war zone,’ said Mrs Corrin, who was given no prior warning that the display was going to take place.

Mrs Corrin keeps two horses and three donkeys at her property on Stoney Mountain Road and the first inkling she had about the display was early on Saturday evening when she saw the bonfire being lit.

She rang her neighbour to ask why she had been given no warning of a fireworks event taking place so that she could bring her animals in from the field nearby and was told: ’I’ll give you 20 minutes.’

She said: ’Fortunately I managed to get the two horses in.

’I put all the lights on in the stables, closed the doors and put the radio on but I couldn’t get all the donkeys in before it started.

’It was a big display - it went on for about 20 minutes and the noise was unbelievable.’

All Mrs Corrin’s animals were upset by it. One of her horses was ’covered in sweat’ but Teddy, the last donkey to come in, was especially badly affected.

She said: ’He was very traumatised: he’s still upset about the whole thing.

’He’s not been himself since it happened.’

Now Mrs Corrin is calling for an end to private displays: ’I think the sale of fireworks should be banned,’ she said.

Further along the Foxdale Road at the ManxSPCA, rescue dog Bella, a two-year-old American bulldog who is up for rehoming was also upset by the firework display.

Bella, who is described as ’everyone’s best friend as soon as she meets them’ was out in the exercise field having a run around before bedtime when the display started, at around 6pm.

Cowering

ManxSPCA general manager, Juana Warburton, said: ’She was cowering in a bush.

’A couple of our dogs were scared and the kennels staff were taken by surprise because it started so early at a time when there is still a lot of activity taking place around the animals.’

’We had no warning of the display. We collate details of any upcoming displays [we hear about] and put them on our Facebook page so that people can take precautions.’

Mrs Warburton added: ’For me, it’s a broader thing. At the moment there does seem to be too many fireworks around and too many events and, it seems, every evening 10 days before November 5.

’There is so much choice [of events] you don’t need to have your own display and I’d like to see people stop selling them now.’

Luckily Bella is now recovering from her fright. Mrs Warburton said: ’She’s a bundle of fun out in the fields.’