Firework display organiser fined by court after accidental blaze at Ringwood Raceway

THE organiser of a Bonfire Night display near Ringwood was told by a court to pay more than £7,600 after an accidental blaze launched an explosion of out-of-control fireworks.

The event on 6th November 2021 was managed by Craig Robinson (46) at the Ringwood Raceway site in Hurn Road.

Dramatic video footage at Poole Magistrates' Court showed the moment fireworks in the back of a truck were accidentally set alight, sending flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air.

Huge bangs could be heard as they shot off in all directions.

One frightened young boy was heard crying out for his dad while other spectators seemed to think the huge fire was part of the display.

After the unplanned explosion, an announcer on a PA system said: “Well, that wasn’t scheduled. Did you enjoy it?”

The crowd cheered as he commented: “That was good, a big bang!”

In another video of the explosion from the truck, one man said: “Is he going to drive that round the track?” while a little boy with him exclaims: “It’s on fire, it's on fire."

Prosecutor Syam Ventom, appearing for Dorset Council, told the court how a flat-bed truck with fireworks in it was parked close to the main display.

He said a “defective” firework fell into the vehicle, setting it alight and starting a huge blaze.

Mr Ventom said there were between 1,600 to 2,000 people at the display, located in the middle of the race circuit.

Although no one was hurt, there was a “medium risk of harm” to spectators – many of whom were children, said Mr Ventom.

Defence solicitor Nick Robinson said his client had successfully organised 22 race days a year along with 18 Wednesday night meetings without incident.

He said the defendant accepted the van should not have been parked where it was, conceding it was a "genuine mistake but a serious one".

He said the firework explosion was an "isolated" incident and the defendant could not have known that one of the fireworks in the display was defective.

Robinson admitted a charge of failing to take measures to protect persons from fire or explosion.

Sentencing Robinson, who gave his address as the raceway, presiding magistrate David Murray questioned the defendant’s claims that he only earned £16,000 a year from running it.

Looking at a financial earnings report, he told him: “You drive a Mercedes car!”

After a short adjournment to clarify the defendant’s financial position, the court was told that he also received £200 a week from a body shop he owns and income from another racetrack in Norfolk bringing his weekly income to £700.

Robinson was ordered to pay a fine of £3,780 plus £3,899 in court charges.

Mr Murray told him: “Take this as a lesson. You are a very fortunate man that it did not end in a very different way than it did.”