Five people in Germany died from fireworks accidents last night as the country ushered in the new year with its traditional pyrotechnic celebrations.

Among the fatalities, a 24-year-old man near Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia was killed by a homemade firework that detonated prematurely.

Police believe he had constructed the pyrotechnic rocket himself, highlighting ongoing concerns about the extreme dangers of unregulated or improvised fireworks.

The deaths come in the wake of a desperate plea by both German police and the medical community for politicians to outlaw Germany’s tradition whereby private individuals across the country randomly setting off fireworks in in the middle of German streets in everything from city centres and to quiet suburban streets across the country.

“If politicians continue to do nothing, they will contribute to thousands of people being injured by New Year’s Eve fireworks every year, and doctors, rescue workers and law enforcement officers being threatened with firecrackers or physically attacked,” said Klaus Reinhardt, president of the German Medical Association.