Police have released the CCTV footage a business tried to cover up after its employee sold fireworks to an underage boy who then used them to kill an elderly woman.
Shopkeeper Mark Vardy served the killers after being told they wanted to throw fireworks in people’s faces and “terrorise” the community.
The damning exchange was caught in high quality by the shop’s own CCTV footage, which a judge found earlier this month that the business had then tried to “conceal”.
After one of the boys says he plans to throw fireworks at police, Vardy recommends “air bombs”, telling them: “You can hold it, throw it, do what you like with it.”
Vardy, 59, of North Road in Westcliff, walked free from Romford Magistrates’ Court earlier this month with a suspended sentence, after pleading guilty to two counts of selling fireworks to a 15-year-old.
The boy and his 18-year-old friend then went on a rampage through Harold Wood, throwing fireworks at drivers and local businesses, then posting one through the front door of 88-year-old Josephine Smith.
Josephine, who was hard of hearing, remained asleep in her bed, oblivious to the fact that the firework had set her kitchen alight.
She was found dead from smoke inhalation hours later, when the blaze in her Queens Park Road home was spotted and reported to the fire brigade.
Her family’s petition, calling for tougher regulation of firework sales, has attracted almost 55,000 signatures in two weeks.
“It was important to us as a family that the police released this footage,” her son Alan told the Recorder.
“We wanted the wider community to see the level of irresponsibility shown by Mark Vardy that night and why it was that he ended up in court.
“He was supposed to be a responsible adult and certainly should have known better and known the risks involved with such an irresponsible sale.
“He didn’t sell those fireworks to those kids by accident. The boys told him exactly what their intentions were.”
Vardy had been told that the boy – who can now be named as Callum Dunne, from Southend – was 16, was underage, but served him anyway.
Dunne was convicted of manslaughter at the Old Bailey last year but could not be named at the time due to a court order.
However, that order expired in February 2024 when he turned 18. He has since been named by media outlets including the BBC.
Dunne’s then 18-year-old accomplice Kai Cooper, from Leatherhead, was also convicted of manslaughter.
Dunne, who pleaded guilty, was given three years and eight months in prison. Cooper, who denied manslaughter but was convicted by a jury, got six-and-a-half years.
But it was Dunne who posted the firework through Josephine’s door.
Vardy served the teens at Fireworks 4 Sale in Station Road, Harold Wood, on October 28, 2021.
“I wanna let some off at people,” Cooper can be heard saying in the video, released to the Romford Recorder by the Metropolitan Police Service. “People are gonna get terrorised tonight.”
Vardy was sentenced earlier this month to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.
He was employed by his son Luke Vardy’s company, LMV Enterprises, which is based in Station Road, Rayleigh, and traded as Fireworks 4 Sale.
The company also pleaded guilty to two counts of selling fireworks to an underage boy.
Romford Magistrates’ Court heard that the father and son had repeatedly failed to hand over the incriminating CCTV, with Luke Vardy, 29, instead handing over only snippets with no audio.
District Judge Susan Holdham found the pair had engaged in “deliberate concealment” of evidence.
The company was ordered to pay £16,000 in fines and costs.
Josephine’s family want the age for buying fireworks to be increased to 21, and for a minimum spend of £50 to be imposed.
“This should discourage irresponsible youths from purchasing individual fireworks to cause mayhem,” said Alan.
“The youths that took mum’s life bought ten mega burst fireworks for £8.99. These are essentially small bombs. It makes no sense to me that this was possible.”
The family also want more regular checks on fireworks vendors, to make sure they are acting responsibly.
The petition is online at: https://www.change.org/p/change-legislation-around-sale-and-use-of-fireworks.
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