To use outdoor fireworks such as cakes, rockets and so on you will need, as a minimum, 8m distance between the fireworks and your spectators. This will allow you to use Category F2 fireworks which have an 8m spectator distance.
The 8m distance should be considered as a minimum. These fireworks, especially cakes and barrages, are very powerful. Please do not be tempted to use them at less than 8m and if you have more than 8m then use the full space available.
Note that some Category F2 fireworks have spectator distances of 15m or 20m. Only use these if you have those distances available in your garden or venue.
Although securing your fireworks before lighting them should always be considered mandatory, it is even more critical at shorter distances to ensure you mitigate as many risks as possible. Please see our Setting Up Fireworks sections for more help.
If you’re worried about cakes and barrages being too powerful in a small garden then look at fountains, wheels and smaller selection boxes. Novelty items and ground spinners are also a lot of fun (see the Firework Types section for info on all of these). An example multi-effect fountain is shown below (typically about £8 to £10) which as you can see is ideal for this type of situation.