THE father of a Bury teenager who lost his hand in an horrific firework accident has called for the Government take them off the shelves.

James Hamilton, whose son Stuart returned to a lit rocket, said potentially lethal fireworks should be banned from sale to protect other youngsters from the dangers.

Stuart, now a student at Bolton College, narrowly escaped death when he returned to a check on a firework he had lit just minutes earlier in an empty school building.

The powerful rocket -- bought from a friend -- blew his right hand off and left him with serious injuries to his face, ears and chest.

Mr Hamilton, of Green Street, Bury, said: "Now is the time for the government to act and ban shops from selling fireworks. They should only be available to people who are going to use them for displays.

"Stuart was 15 at the time and should have known better but he shouldn't have been able to get his hands on fireworks.

"There is no reason why they should be on sale to the general public. While fireworks are in the shops kids will be able to get their hands on them because older kids are buying them."

Stuart was able to begin a course in plastering at Bolton College after a series of operations at Wythenshawe Hospital to restore his hearing and reconstruct part of his hand.

Mr Hamilton said current laws do not go far enough to ensure youngsters will not put their lives at risk.

"It shows just how dangerous they can be for anyone," he said. "Stuart has been lucky to receive such good medical care but he will still need further operations on his ears to get his hearing back to normal.

"He made the biggest mistake of his life when he went back to that firework and paid a huge price for it.

"The people who sell them need to be a lot more responsible. They ought to think about whether they would like their children to be playing with their lives."