To the "many irate residents of the Pembroke and Sackville district".

As you appear to have forgotten to put your address on the letter I received last Wednesday morning, I take this opportunity to respond to some of your points concerning our bonfire party the previous Saturday.

Firstly, I do not believe it to be practical to inform residents "up to a mile away" of what was, at most, a 20-minute display of fireworks.

The fireworks used were available from any number of shops along Blatchington Road and George Street, Hove, not specially purchased to cause distress.

It is impossible to know how loud a firework is without lighting it first, obviously unfeasible in a newsagent's shop.

If you wish to see the sale of fireworks such as this restricted, your energies would be better focused on the legislative bodies or the shops themselves.

How I and my guests recommenced the "loud bangs" at 10.30pm is, indeed, a mystery.

We ended the display at about 6.20pm because we had several children at the party who needed to get home to bed.

It would have needed a feat of some endeavour to launch fireworks from the comfort of the pub.

Your suggestion that fireworks should be used only on the Downs is thoughtless at best.

Although I am yet to read of any pets or elderly residents in Brighton and Hove dying from the use of fireworks, the recent tragic death of a horse in Pyecombe is surely reason enough to keep fireworks away from the Downs.

I appreciate this right to reply (although a return address would have shown better etiquette).

My family has lived in the Sackville district for some 35 years and I can assure you we do not have total disregard for the community within which we live but reserve the right to celebrate this yearly festival.

-Daniel Esmond, Sackville Road, Hove