Family left 'haunted' after teens killed elderly woman by throwing fireworks through letterbox

Josephine Smith, 88, died of smoke inhalation as a result of a firework being posted through her letterbox by Callum Dunne, then 15, and Kai Cooper, then 18 - both have been found guilty of manslaughter

The son of an elderly woman who tragically died due to a firework incident has called for a ban on fireworks - except for four specific dates.

Josephine Smith, 88, sadly passed away from smoke inhalation after Callum Dunne, then 15, and Kai Cooper, then 18, posted a firework through her letterbox.

The duo had been throwing fireworks at drivers and businesses in Harold Wood, East London, before targeting Josephine's home. Despite being hard of hearing, Josephine remained asleep in her Romford, Essex home and was later found dead from smoke inhalation.

The teenagers were found guilty of manslaughter, with Dunne receiving a sentence of three years and eight months, while Cooper was given five years. Alan Smith, 55, Josephine's son, has started a petition to change the laws surrounding the sale and use of fireworks.

He proposes that they should only be available around November 5, December 25 and 31, and Diwali, and also advocates for a ban on garden boxes under £50. The fireworks used by the boys were sold to them by Mark Vardy, 59, in October 2021, who supplied them despite knowing they intended to throw them at people.

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CCTV footage from 'Fireworks 4 U' shows Vardy suggesting they buy 'air bombs' after one of the teens mentioned plans to throw fireworks at police. Vardy, from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, received a 12-month suspended sentence earlier this month after admitting to two counts of selling fireworks to a 15 year old.

Alan, a fuel tanker driver from Harold Wood, London, has spoken out after his mother's tragic death due to a firework mishap at their family home. He made a passionate appeal saying: "You can light fireworks from 7am to 11pm year-round."

Expressing concerns over the prevalent misuse of pyrotechnics, he mentioned, "There's so much hatred around fireworks but largely that's because they are used year round." He suggested tighter controls, remarking, "Even for the fireworks industry's sake, if they were limited to those events, they wouldn't be getting as much grief."

Alan's call for more responsible usage followed, "People can then enjoy them when they're meant to be used and they shouldn't be as readily available."

Describing the harrowing incident which took his mother's life, he recounted, "The whole home was ignited and smouldered for some time, the firework landed on her washing basket and it was the smoke that took Mum's life sadly." He detailed the extent of the damage: "It took 60 to 70 per cent of the house from the inside."

His sought-after reform through a petition, currently standing at 64,000 signatures, includes multiple suggestions such as making Challenge 25 obligatory, setting a minimum value for garden display boxes at £50, and enforcing stricter licensing for the sale of fireworks.

Alan stated, "Challenge 25 is not a compulsory thing even with the sales of alcohol." He expressed dismay at how easily the youth can acquire fireworks, adding "The lads that bought the fireworks, one of them was 15 and he was able to buy them so easily."

Through his proposal, Alan seeks to reinstate fireworks as part of cherished family traditions by stating, "So I want to encourage it to be more of a family thing as it was years ago. Again, if the individual fireworks that were bought were a minimum sale of £50 and display boxes only that would have prevented those fireworks from being used in the way they were.

"The shop's salesperson says to Cooper and Dunne in the CCTV that you can hold them and throw them and that's what's haunted me most. The two boys when they bought the fireworks clearly stated in CCTV that they wanted to throw them at police and terrorise people - that's the thing that's haunted us more than anything.

"So we need proper training and better education for store staff. Tighter checks on the legislation would be great - it's becoming a bit blasé on the way it's being handled. My mum was a lovely woman - immaculately turned out and a beautiful lady and the idea of the petition is just trying to find things that would prevent what happened to mum from happening to others."

You can find more about Alan's petition here.