Cracker ban in UK dampens Christmas mood

London: Stores are being banned from selling Christmas crackers to anyone under 16 because an European Union-inspired diktat classes them as ‘category 1 fireworks'.

Check-out staff have even been warned they face a £5,000 (Dh28,925) fine — or up to six months' jail — if found guilty of selling the ‘dangerous explosives' to an under-age child.

Some critics were left asking that if crackers are so hazardous, how were they finding a place on the dinner table at all.

The cracker was invented in 1847 by Tom Smith, a London baker. It subsequently became a particularly British tradition, so any restriction on sales will be felt more keenly here than elsewhere in Europe.

Retail body hits out

The cracker rules were condemned as "particularly daft", by the British Retail Consortium.

They are included in the Pyrotechnic Articles (safety) Regulations of August 2010, which implement an EU directive into British law. The original directive recommended the ban should only apply to anyone under 12, however the UK decided to go for the more draconian limit of 16.

Trading standards officers will be monitoring how retailers enforce the law. Cashiers have been told to check the age of any cracker shopper who looks under 16.