Late-night fireworks display in Nottingham city centre causes confusion

RESIDENTS were left frustrated and confused after a firework display was let off in Nottingham city centre at 11pm on Sunday. Dozens of people took to social media sites to speculate over the display, with many wondering whether the fireworks had been let off by accident. Others were annoyed that they had been woken by the loud noise. It was later revealed that the display was part of the birthday celebrations of Nottingham businessman Nat Puri, who was enjoying a party at the council house in Old Market Square.

Right own up... Who set the fireworks off in Nottingham's #OldMarketSquare? Frightened the living daylights out of me!

— Jonny Freeman (@jfreeman_93) November 16, 2014

Whoa! Just woken by fairly impressive display of mystery #fireworks over #nottingham council house. Been up since 5am :-(

— Katherine Jaiteh (@KJJaiteh) November 16, 2014

Jack Gregory, of George Street, said: "It was quite bizarre. I wondered if it might be a prank or some sort of publicity stunt. "I've since read that it was to celebrate Nat Puri's 75th birthday, in which case I can understand it annoying some people. "It is pretty late to do that sort of thing, especially on a Sunday." Viraj Jawane, 24, of Broad Street, added: "I thought it was the Christmas lights switch-on at first but I hadn't heard anything about it so I was a bit confused. "Then I looked it up and found that the switch-on is on November 21 so I wondered what the fireworks were for and whether they had been let off by accident. "For me it wasn't annoying. I enjoyed sitting and watching them."

OK. Fireworks in Nottm at 1055 on a Sunday night. Really? REALLY?!

— Gav B (@WDMN) November 16, 2014

Hugh White, director of sport and culture at Nottingham City Council, said: "We're sorry if some residents around the Council House area were annoyed at the fireworks display on Sunday night. "We had received a request to hire the venue for a special anniversary celebration and ensured that the fireworks would not go on past the legal cut-off time of 11pm. We also had staff on site to oversee the display from a safety perspective. "We understand that some people felt the fireworks were too late and we will certainly take these comments on board if and when we receive another request of this nature."