No charges after man blinded in one eye at public fireworks show

A man left blind in one eye after he was hit by fireworks in the Octagon on New Year's Eve says it is disappointing no one will be charged.

Wayne Boss lost sight in his right eye after being hit by debris during the Dunedin City Council's fireworks display.

WorkSafe said yesterday it had finished its investigation and no charges would be laid.

Boss was toldof WorkSafe's decision two weeks ago.

"I don't think there would be any member of the public that wouldn't think the same as me: that you should be able to attend an organised public event, or professional display, in the correct area and not come out safely. But that didn't happen,'' Boss said.

"So something didn't go right.''

Fireworks would be part of next month's New Year's Eve celebrations in the Octagon but the public exclusion area would be extended.

The council said its own independent investigation did not find enough evidence to show whether the firework responsible for the injury came from a council display or a member of the public.

But Boss said that was "disgusting'' as WorkSafe's investigation clearly stated it was extremely unlikely the firework came from somewhere other than the council's display.

He also questioned why the council had extended the exclusion area if it was safe last year.

Boss has been unable to return to his job as a senior environmental health officer at the council and potentially faced more surgery on the eye.

"It ain't a fast process, I can tell you. When you've spent 50-odd years with two of them it takes a very long period of time to adjust.''

If anything positive came out of his accident, it was the need for tighter regulation on professional displays, he said.

Council community development and events manager Joy Gunn said the council would take a cautious approach to future fireworks displays.

An exclusion zone around the fireworks would be extended into areas such as Harrop St and would be closed 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the display.

Food stalls would also be set up in Princes St and no personal fireworks would be allowed at the New Year's Eve event. More security staff would also monitor the event, she said.