BANNED fireworks are on sale in West Yorkshire.

And consumer chiefs have revealed they are being marketed under the label of the reputable Huddersfield-based firework company Black Cat.

They fear youngsters will snap up the potentially dangerous bangers believing them to be genuine.

Now the company and trading standards officers have urged: Do not buy these fireworks.

Bangers have been banned in the UK since 1997 but the counterfeit fireworks are thought to have been imported from China, via Ireland.

They are packaged as Black Cat Bangers, using the cat logo of the Crosland Hill-based firm.

The printed wrappers list a Burton on Trent address and Black Cat has links with a fireworks company in that town.

Now West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service are warning traders and members of the public to be on the lookout for the potentially harmful counterfeit bangers.

Due to their use in incidents of anti-social behaviour, bangers were banned outright in the UK in 1997.

A service spokesman said: “However, it now appears that unscrupulous suppliers are ignoring the ban and continuing to supply them.

“Furthermore they are being illegally counterfeited using the Black Cat firework brand which is likely to lead consumers into a false sense of security.”

The bangers are sold in packs of 10. They are generally described as being a small red tube with a short fuse on top.