A family’s three pet rabbits were killed after a rogue firework turned their garden hutch into a devastating fireball.
Louise Bather, 47, her husband Vic and their two teenage sons, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, watched in horror as the stray rocket torched their pets Peter, Mummy and Skitzy.
Today, Mrs Bather called for fireworks to be banned outside official organised displays after the freak accident.
A family’s three pet rabbits were killed after a rogue firework hit their garden hutch and set it ablaze
Louise Bather, 47, her husband Vic and their two teenage sons, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, watched in horror as the stray rocket torched their pets Peter, Mummy and Skitzy (pictured)
The incident happened at about 10pm last Saturday at their home. The Bathers were in their living room, which faces the garden, when they heard a bang
‘It’s devastating to lose our rabbits in such a horrific way. They were part of our family and meant the world to us,’ said the mother-of-two.
‘I really think fireworks should be banned from private use. This was an accident but look at the sheer devastation it’s caused.’
The incident happened at about 10pm last Saturday at their home.
The Bathers were in their living room, which faces the garden, when they heard a bang.
Mr Bather rushed outside to find the back of their garden ablaze.
Mrs Bather (left) today called for fireworks to be banned outside official organised displays after the freak accident. Right, Peter, one of the rabbits which died
Their youngest son Joe, 16, was on his computer at the time. He ran downstairs and tried to push past his parents in a desperate bid to save the doomed rabbits but they stopped him.
‘It was devastating watching everything burn,’ Mrs Bather, a childminder, told the Welwyn Hatfield Times.
‘It all happened so fast. We were just too late to save our rabbits – we couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t let Joe go out there – he could have been seriously injured.’
She added: ‘It was heartbreaking to hold him back but we knew we had to. The garden was engulfed in flames. The whole back of the garden is destroyed.’
As well as the rabbits, Mrs Bather lost some children’s toys, a shed containing her husband’s tools, a tumble dryer and other items in the fire
Mrs Bather praised local firefighters for coming to their house so fast.
‘Hatfield fire service arrived so quickly and were amazing. They helped to console my son over the rabbits and even pulled out their bodies for us so we didn’t have to,’ she said. ‘I just can’t thank them enough.’
As well as the rabbits, Mrs Bather lost a lot of her children’s toys, a shed containing her husband’s tools, a tumble dryer and other items in the fire.
‘I haven’t told the children I look after about our rabbits but they have been so sweet and offered to donate their toys.
‘Everyone, neighbours, friends, strangers, have come forward to help. The support we’ve had is so lovely,’ she said.
The Bathers haven’t let off fireworks in their garden for years after declaring them ‘dangerous’ and now want to highlight the deadly menace they pose.
‘I can’t help but think “what if we weren’t in” – would it have spread to our home?
‘My son would have been upstairs, none the wiser,’ insisted Mrs Bather.
‘Or would he have run outside to save the rabbits and have gotten hurt?
‘Fireworks should only be used at public events. They’re just not safe.’