This year at least 56 of the Netherlands’ towns and cities will bring in firework-free zones for the New Year celebrations, according to research by the AD.

This means around one in seven local authorities now have official policy to deal with fireworks, compared with around one in 11 last year. Groningen, Amersfoort, Alkmaar and Dordrecht are among the cities joining in for the first time.

Most zones are set up around schools, care homes and city zoos, the paper says.

People are becoming less tolerant of the damage and nuisance caused by fireworks, a spokesman for the Dutch local authorities’ organisation VNG told the AD. ‘They are getting fed up with the fact that every year people are injured and bus shelters go up in flames,’ he said.

A survey by television show EenVandaag at the end of last year found six out of 10 people would prefer a firework display organised by the local council rather than the current free for all.

Every year, dozens of people are serious injured and millions of euros worth of damage are caused during the New Year firework frenzy.