Just a handful of fines were handed out to people who set off fireworks in places where they had been banned during the New Year celebrations, broadcaster NOS reported on Wednesday.

Fireworks were banned in 12 towns and cities but just one person was fined in Nijmegen and seven in Haarlem, NOS said.

Rotterdam and Apeldoorn, where fireworks were also banned during the festivities, have not yet published their figures. No-one was fined in Amsterdam, despite the ban being widely ignored.

Instead, council wardens in the capital prioritised making sure emergency service workers could carry out their work safely, a council spokesman said.

Damage

Meanwhile, the Dutch insurance association Verbond van Verzekeraars said in an initial estimate that damage to private property during the New Year celebrations amounted to €10 million.

This up considerably on the two coronavirus years, but well below the €16.3 million in damages in the last pre-Covid New Year.

The figure does not include medical costs, or damage to public and company property, so does not cover, for example, the destruction of a church in Veghel or damage to a school in Buitenveldert.