A PENARTH shop has been fined after the army had to be called in to deal with fireworks which were stored in a dangerous and unsafe way.

Trading Standards officers acting for Vale of Glamorgan Council found £3,500 worth of fireworks stored in unsuitable containers on the shop floor of A-Z Dragon Discount on Windsor Road

The inspection was carried out on Tuesday, October 25 last year and officers had to enlist the help of the army due to quantity of fireworks discovered on the premises which is situated below a residential area.

The case at Cardiff Magistrates Court on Thursday, July 6 heard how officers from Shared Regulatory Services, the body responsible for upholding trading standards across the Vale, Cardiff and Bridgend councils, found over 60 kg of net explosive fireworks which were stored in a rear storeroom in a dangerous and unsafe manner.

They were also found to be damp and they were not segregated from flammable materials.

Appearing at Cardiff Magistrates Court, Sangat Singh, 49, and Trishna Kaur Singh, 51, both of Felin Fach, Whitchurch, Cardiff pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Sangat Singh was fined £1,920 and Trishna Singh was fined £1,080.

The council was awarded £2,000 in costs.

The Magistrates ordered that the fireworks be forfeited and destroyed.

They also took the view that this was a very serious offence and whilst nobody had died, there was a high risk that somebody could have in light of the way the fireworks were being stored at the premises.

Cllr Hunter Jarvie, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for Shared Regulatory Services said: "Fireworks are highly dangerous articles and need to be stored safely.

"Officers monitor premises which have explosives licences and will take the necessary action to ensure that both staff and the public are safe.

"This was a very dangerous situation with residential accommodation above the building."