A HAUL of illegal fireworks worth £20,000 has been safely destroyed.

And safety experts have pledged to repeat the exercise whenever necessary.

Every year, Black Cat Fireworks, formerly Standard, based at Crosland Hill, dispose of about £500,000 worth of illegal fireworks safely.

The fireworks have often been seized by police and trading standards from all over the country.

Black Cat technical director Martin Guest, of Golcar, believes it is important the industry takes some responsibility for getting rid of these potentially dangerous fireworks.

He said: "We want people to enjoy fireworks safely and have a good time. But a lot of the fireworks we are asked to dispose of are illegal and probably dangerous.

"If the police or trading standards confiscate some fireworks they give them to us. We have the ability to get rid of them safely."

The mountain of fireworks is locked in a metal mesh cage, then lit from a distance. The more explosive fireworks, such as rockets, are soaked first.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards enforcement officer Patricia Harter said: "Fireworks being illegally sold are a big problem. They are often used for vandalism or not safe to use."

Merseyside fire chief Chris Case has helped to draw up a new Fireworks Act.

He said: "We seized one-and-a-half tonnes of fireworks that were being kept in a house last year. That would have been enough to blow half the street up.

"We get lots that are kept illegally, as well as those that are sold illegally. We can't get rid of them safely, so Black Cat kindly help us out."