Catherine wheels and wooden poles used in the ground fireworks display for the Msida parish feast were left abandoned in a public garden for almost three weeks.

The feast dedicated to St Joseph was celebrated on July 23 but the structures were strewn all over the ground in the open space in front of the church until yesterday afternoon when this newspaper visited the site.

When contacted, Raymond Sultana, who heads the Msida St Joseph Fireworks Group, said volunteers had to remove the structures last night.

In an agitated tone, he told this newspaper that Msida residents did not donate enough money and, therefore, his group of volunteers had to manufacture fireworks for other localities to make ends meet.

This meant they did not have the time to remove the structures immediately after the Msida feast was over, Mr Sultana said.

Residents who frequent the garden complained to this newspaper about the unsightly scene, expressing fears the wooden structures posed a danger tochildren who played there in the evening.

Mr Sultana demanded to know who filed the complaint with the newspaper, insisting the person could organise the fireworks display himself next year.

He then slammed down the phone when the journalist refused to give any such details.

The fireworks group has ignored pleas by the Msida council to remove the structures. The council’s executive secretary said the group was given a deadline that expired yesterday to clear debris.

“This is a recurrent problem and the council has insisted several times with the group to remove the debris. We issued a deadline for today [yesterday] and if they do not comply we will ask the competent authorities to clear the place,” the executive secretary said when contacted yesterday.

The open space is one of a few areas within the sprawling locality where residents can gather and is a popular meeting point, especially in summer.