Four in ten Swedes want New Year firework limit

Forty percent of Swedes asked by pollsters YouGov said they agreed that the use of rockets and firecrackers should be restricted.

Fifteen percent said they supported a total ban on people setting off their own fireworks, compared with just eight percent in a similar survey in 2010.

The study suggests that usually safety-conscious Swedes are moving towards favouring organised firework displays rather than private shows put on with friends and families.

Linda Lindberg from YouGov said: “there is growing support for the amended regulations. It is really going up".

Many Swedish supermarkets have already moved to restrict the sale of fireworks. Citygross, Coop and ICA Maxi stores have stopped stocking them altogether.

Lindberg said that many lives had been saved in other countries that had already banned the sale of fireworks and urged Swedes to reconsider their “terrible tradition” over New Year.