A CAMPAIGN has been launched to curb the sale of potentially deadly fireworks.

If trading standards officers' recommendations get the go-ahead, some brands of firework will be banned and firework sellers will be subject to stricter licences.

The campaign comes after East Lancashire MPs called on the government to introduce tighter legislation following several serious incidents.

The worst was in Burnley when 18-year-old Paul Ridge was killed by a commercial firework in Duke Bar. Two phone boxes in Accrington were blown up and the roof of a pavilion in the town's Milnshaw Park blown off. Firework hooligans attacked a takeaway in Accrington and several cars have been damaged.

Welcoming the campaign, Blackburn Fire Station Officer Aidan Fortune said: "If fireworks are being imported or sold illegally then you can be sure their use will not match the manufacturer's guidelines."

County council finance and general purposes chairman Chris Cheetam, who launched the campaign with fire authority chairman Niki Penney, said: "Better regulation will mean everyone will enjoy the firework season more and be safer."

A leaflet will be sent to organisations in the county with a letter urging them to lobby for the recommendations to be taken up by the government. It will also go to local MPs, the Department for Trade and groups including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Age Concern.

The main recommendations are:

Exploding fireworks should be banned unless a minority part of manufacturer's packs

A public sale ban on more powerful fireworks

The firework registration scheme should be replaced with a new licence scheme.