Fire officers have welcomed a judgement upholding its decision to revoke an explosives storage licence in South Yorkshire.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue inspecting officers revoked the licence of a Mr John Hebdon in 2022, following concerns about the licensee’s ability to safely store fireworks at a site in Barnsley.

The decision to revoke the licence was upheld at an appeal hearing earlier this year at Sheffield Coroner’s Court, following two days of witness evidence provided by Business Fire Safety inspecting officers.

The court heard that Mr Hebdon routinely failed to store fireworks in accordance with the Explosives Regulations over a prolonged period of time and obstructed officers from carrying out their lawful duties on multiple occasions.

Now fire chiefs are reiterating their commitment to upholding fire safety legislation and protecting the work of their business fire safety inspection teams.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Andy Strelczenie, said: “We will not stand for people obstructing the work of our inspecting officers, who play such an important role in keeping local people safe. Unsafe sites also put our firefighters at risk, should an emergency occur.

“Explosives licence regulations, like all fire safety laws, are there to protect the public and prevent emergencies. Whilst we’ll always try to work with licence holders, we are not afraid to use our powers to take appropriate enforcement action and revoke licensees when the safety of firefighters and the public is placed at risk.”

With certain exceptions, an authorisation is required for the acquisition, keeping, transfer, storage and/or manufacture of explosives- including fireworks.

More information is available on the fire service website here.