Illegal fireworks seized in Manchester raid
- Published
Thousands of illegal fireworks have been seized in Manchester.
Most of the haul, uncovered at premises on Bury New Road in Cheetham Hill, were banned bangers thought to have come from Spain.
The fire service said the bangers have been widely used on Merseyside in the past few weeks.
They were seized in a joint operation between Greater Manchester and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services, the police and Trading Standards.
The raid came after intelligence received by Merseyside Fire and Rescue's Firework Incident Research Safety Team (FIRST).
'Anti-social'
Mike Kirby, from FIRST, said: "These bangers were banned in 1997 because they are dangerous - they are small but powerful. These are particularly powerful because they contain flash powder.
"We have not seen any problems with bangers in recent years but in the last four weeks we have had reports of these bangers being used not just in Merseyside but across the country, being put through letterboxes or being thrown around."
Chairman of Greater Manchester's Fire Authority, Councillor Paul Shannon, said: "This is a great example of teams working across the North West to make sure dangerous and anti-social fireworks and other explosives don't hit the streets.
"It's great news in the lead up to Halloween and Bonfire Night."
Following the seizure on Sunday, the firework registration for the premises has been revoked and all stock will be removed within 24 hours.