Fireworks seized after boys injured

Oct 4 2012

Hundreds of fireworks have been recovered from a shed after two children were injured in separate incidents.

A 15-year-old boy was seriously hurt when a banger exploded in his hand in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, at about 5.20pm.

He was taken by ambulance to Wishaw General Hospital but was later transferred to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where his condition is described as stable. Police said his hand had been seriously injured.

Earlier, a 12-year-old boy suffered superficial burns to his hand after being scorched by the same type of firework. He was treated at Wishaw General Hospital following the incident in Wrangholm Drive, Carfin, also North Lanarkshire, at 2.30pm, and was later released.

Strathclyde Police said up to 1,000 bangers, which consist of a rolled up paper tube filled with gunpowder and a fuse at the top, were being stored in a shed behind houses in Blackmoore Place, New Stevenston, North Lanarkshire.

The force is investigating whether the batch is defective and warned members of the public, especially youngsters, to take extra care when handling any type of firework.

Inspector Gavin Russell, from Wishaw Police Office, said: "So far we have recovered several hundred but believe there could have been up to a thousand hidden there. At this time we do not know who the fireworks belong to or indeed who owns the shed they were in. It is very possible that they have been stolen from another premises and stored there, with or without the owners' knowledge; however, this is still to be established.

"What concerns us at the moment is that they now appear to have got into the hands of local youngsters in the Newarthill, Holytown, Carfin and New Stevenston areas.

"It is too early to say whether the injuries the boys sustained are due to the way they have been handled or if the batch is defective; however, my main point here is to make sure that anyone else who comes across them is not injured.

"I would urge people who are offered them either to play with or to buy, not to use them but to hand them into police. I would also appeal to anyone who has information about the fireworks, where they came from or who they have been circulated to, to contact officers."