HEALTH and safety officials put a dampener on a £1,200 firework display at a Halesowen school forcing its last minute cancellation.

Howley Grange Primary School PTA had sold 650 tickets for their first firework spectacular, but found they were skating on thin ice when Dudley Council’s safety advisory group refused to give it their blessing.

Despite the setback, organisers have managed to re-arrange the event planned for this Saturday and have booked an ice rink to replace the fireworks.

PTA chairman Dave Guest said it had been “organised chaos” during the last few days as organisers dished out refunds at the school gate for the firework tickets and sold fresh tickets for the skating event which will run from 3pm until 7pm.

The PTA and local Scout group had spent several months organising the firework spectacular and were disheartened when the safety advisory group, made up of council and emergency service representatives, kept raising new concerns.

Mr Guest said they had first wanted more information from firework supplier and operator Solihull Fireworks, and were sent more than 20 pages of risk assessment.

Then they were told the school playingfield was too small, so the organisers measured it to show it was safe for their event.

But Mr Guest said they were then told the location may be too close to the motorway, although it is about half a mile away in a residential area and no bonfire was planned.

“I know safety is paramount - it is to us - but they just seemed to keep coming up with one thing after another and in the end we had no alternative but to cancel it,” said Mr Guest.

However, not to be defeated, despite feeling “demoralised” the organisers rallied and Mr Guest said there was now a “real buzz” about the ice skating.

It means all the other arrangements including food and a glow-in-the dark juggler can go ahead and organisers are grateful to Solihull Fireworks for not making any charge, despite the late cancellation.

Councillor Judy Foster, cabinet member for community safety, said the advisory group was unable to endorse the fireworks evening because it did not meet nationally set safety guidelines.