West Midlands Police have released unseen CCTV footage, eight years on since the murder of Tony Nicholls.
Former Jaguar Land Rover employee, Tony Nicholls, was 56 when a group of people broke into his home in Tile Cross and set off an industrial-sized firework. He passed away 5 days later in hospital, suffering from severe burns.
His daughter, Fiona Nicholls, said in the renewed police appeal alongside the footage, “my dad was my everything”.
The last eight years have been hell. I relive it every day. Every bonfire night, I’m anxious, it just brings back trauma of what happened to my dad. It’s horrible, I live a nightmare every day.
Fiona Nicholls
Crimestoppers have launched a £20,000 reward, as an appeal to encourage the public to bring forward the killers.
The firework is called a Colossus Finale 600 Series. It’s industrial-sized and unusual, and we still believe someone out there may have information about where it came from.
Det Supt Jim Munro, Homicide team
Eight years on, firework safety is still prevalent, around festival season. With bonfire night exciting residents in the black country, city council and Wolverhampton Today have issued a statement to remind the public about prioritising their health and safety.
On Friday 31st October, police responded to disorder around the New Street area in Birmingham. Fireworks were thrown into Birmingham City centre, as well as launched by a group towards buildings, officers and each other in Bagot Street from about 2:15am on Saturday morning.
In a statement issued by West Midlands Police, the public has been warned about facing arrest.
We want to be clear; anyone who is involved in such irresponsible behaviour risks being arrested. We’re focussed on ensuring the city centre remains a safe place for residents, visitors and those who work in the area.
A spokesperson from West Midlands Police
In preparation for the celebrations tonight, we have spoken to residents in Wolverhampton, to see how they feel about firework safety, following recent related crimes in the West Midlands.
Wolverhampton resident, Tracy, tell us she thinks, “they should just be at organised events and be quieter for nature and pets. They were going off near us at 4 in the morning, which was fun! I’m not scared of the fireworks, but more so of the incidents“, expressing concern for her neighbours and annoyance at late night disturbance.
There have been 32 total cases reported between 2022-2023 of victims of fire related incidents involving fireworks, that were attended to by fire and rescue services, according to the Home Office’s online Incident Recording System.
A spokesperson from Wolverhampton’s city PSCO’s has said, “We’ve had a lot of trouble with fireworks around here, people setting them off on one another and in the streets. We are here to prevent people setting them off and injuring people. With enough of us uniformed patrol around the City Centre, it feels relatively safe.“
As the celebrations continue tonight, we encourage readers to practice firework safety, whilst enjoying the displays.