Please keep fireworks away from Ashdown Forest this bonfire season, say conservators
With Sussex bonfire season now underway, the Conservators of Ashdown Forest are asking visitors to keep fireworks away from the vicinity.
They are warning that fireworks on the forest pose significant risks to wildlife and livestock and may still have the potential to spark a wildfire.
In previous years, the Countryside team has found spent fireworks in several locations across the forest.
Ashdown Forest Head of Countryside Ash Walmsley said: “Bonfire season in Sussex is an important tradition that goes back centuries, with surrounding villages and towns including Crowborough and Rotherfield staging their own well organised celebrations.
“Our concern is that fireworks are being set off on the forest causing distress to wildlife and livestock.
“The spent shells are also hazardous to visitors and are an unwelcome litter issue.”
The Conservators of Ashdown Forest are asking people not to bring fireworks onto the forest but instead enjoy bonfire traditions safely at an organised display.
Ash added: “We hope everyone enjoys their celebrations in a safe, organised environment. Sussex Bonfire tradition has been celebrated for centuries but while we may all enjoy the spectacle, please spare a thought for the wildlife and livestock that find fireworks distressing.”
Sussex Bonfire season runs until the end of November. Different bonfire societies stage their own events known as ‘out meetings’. Other societies are invited to join the celebrations.
The events usually include a torchlight procession and a bonfire. The largest event is Lewes Bonfire – celebrated on the 5 November to commemorate the Gunpowder Plot - a failed attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605, and the Sussex Protestant Martyrs who were burned at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary 1.