A VETERAN Teesside campaigner is calling for a total fireowrks ban after yobs threw fire crackers at her door.

Pearl Hall, a shop owner in South Bank, Middlesbrough, has said that new laws preventing under-18s possessing fireworks are being openly flouted.

The former union representative said that an outright ban on owning fireworks was needed.

Councillor Hall, who serves on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, began calling for a halt when a firecracker was thrown at her door three years ago.

She was outraged when she saw elderly people and children in her community being frightened and attacked with fireworks and has lobbied parliament on the issue, winning national attention.

Since then, she has had a lot of success working with youngsters in South Bank and says the situation has improved.

However another firework was recently thrown in her shop, which did not cause any damage.

"There's one lad comes in to the shop now who used to be a menace, and he's the nicest lad you could meet now," she said.

"But there's still problems. Some people come to me scared out of their minds and I've had letters from across the country.

"There needs to be an outright ban. The council can put on a safe firework display. There's no need for fireworks sold in shops. Not only that but you see stolen fireworks being sold from doorsteps. The law has got better, but it's not good enough yet."

New laws mean that fireworks are banned from 11pm to 7am.

Anyone caught misusing fireworks now faces an £80 on-the-spot fine from police.

Offenders who refuse to pay the fine face an increased fine of £120 and court action.

The most serious offenders can be jailed for six months.