TRIED & TESTED: BRIGHTEST SPARKS

Will all the fireworks in that gaily-coloured box go off with a bang and not a whimper? Our panel finds out

THE PROBLEM with fireworks is that, like Christmas crackers, they are a once-a-year purchase. Who can possibly remember remember from the last Fifth of November which Catherine wheel, fountain or rocket went up with a bang and which fizzled out with a whimper? So, as Guy Fawkes night draws closer, our panel tested ready-packed selections of fireworks to see which can be relied on to provide more dazzle than duds.

Not only do we want the loudest bangs and the brightest showers for the least money, we also expect sanitised explosions as reliable and controllable as gas central heating. As the burglars who tried recently to break into a fireworks' factory found out when they sent everything sky-high, man may have harnessed gunpowder but he certainly does not have its power fully reined.

The annual November fireworks-fest is a priority for Government safety campaigns and legislation but neither managed to prevent a 50 per cent increase in reported fireworks-related injuries last year. Reckless behaviour and careless handling (particularly of sparklers, surprisingly enough) are the main causes. Storing fireworks in a closed container, keeping a bucket of water close at hand, segregating bonfires and fireworks, not approaching apparent failures and keeping a safe viewing distance, all cut risks considerably.

In spite of the well-publicised dangers, however, and the growing number of public displays, the tradition of fireworks in the garden remains a popular and relatively cheap way of giving family and friends a thrill.

THE PANEL

Fireworks' garden parties, consisting of adults and children, were arranged by Corinne Julius and Jan Dalley. In true British tradition, the evening was drizzly. The professional opinion was provided by Jeremy Finch and his team at, Fantastic Fireworks, a company specialising in custom-made novelty fireworks.

THE TEST

Each group exploded the contents of four family boxes, all of which conformed to the national standard for fireworks' safety, BSI 7114. The fireworks were a mixture of display class (for viewing at a distance of 25 metres) and garden class (five metres). The testers looked at packaging and presentation, how easy the fireworks were to set up and set off, the effectiveness (the "wow" factor) of each piece, the variety of the selection and value for money.

**STANDARD/BROCKS

INTERNATIONAL SELECTION

pounds 26.25, 20 fireworks

The most expensive of the boxes we tested, this selection was Jan Dalley's favourite. She scored it highly across the board, particularly for variety. "The best overall. It would give a very reasonable evening's fun," she said. "All the fuses lit properly, even in the rain. To be recommended."

Corinne Julius noticed that the fireworks were larger than those in the other boxes but did not find them as impressive as their size suggested. "A reasonable mixture of 'pretty' and 'loud' fireworks," she said, but she scored the box low on presentation. Nevertheless, she commented that the individual fireworks were well packaged and did not leak or tear. The team from Fantastic agreed that the Brocks packaging was probably the best and certainly the most sophisticated. Jeremy Finch concluded, however, that the contents offered "plenty of noise, but were generally overpriced for what the fireworks were".

ASTRA SELECTION E

pounds 20, 24 fireworks

One of the biggest fireworks' producers in Britain, Astra received a unanimous thumbs-down from our testers. Corinne Julius said: "At first sight the box looks good value for money with a range of sizes and types of firework. In reality the fireworks were poor and very hard to light. They leaked and produced less interesting sparkles and crasser colours than the others. Basically," she went on, "we wouldn't touch Astra with a bargepole; we'd probably choose no fireworks in preference to letting our money go up in smoke this way. Could it have been a dud box?"

Jan Dalley joined in the derision: "The least good selection. Dull, too repetitive, lots of noise and smoke, with many of the fireworks, although packaged to look quite big, lasting very little time."

The Fantastic team were particularly irritated by the lack of small tube needed to launch one of the fireworks and said: "We thought the Astra box was the worst. There was a lot of filling and cardboard packaging in the fireworks and about 50 per cent of the items were basically the same."

"As a plus point all the fireworks actually worked," said Jeremy Finch who also complemented the cuckoo, which Corinne Julius admitted "offered such a good screech, it got the wax out of your ears".

****BLACK CAT, LEOPARD

pounds 10.50, 15 fireworks

"We expected little from this box," said Corinne Julius, who described the individual fireworks as small and not attractively packaged, "but it elicited the greatest wow factor. Although there were a few duds, the individual fireworks were mostly long-lasting and many had interesting delicate and mixed patterns and emitted a few interesting sounds. The box of six mini fountains to line up in your own pattern was excellent." The group at Fantastic also enjoyed the mini fountains. Jeremy Finch said: "Above all, an entertaining selection." But he added that this selection "had the highest failure/non-ignition rate and some nasty ones, including a volcano fountain which exploded".

Jan Dalley complained that "excitement in all the boxes has been 'increased' by dreadful noise effects - loud whistles and bangs that sound like machine guns", but despite describing this box as noisy and smoky she said it is "cheap and cheerful. A reasonable range for the price, although the box doesn't last long."

***BLACK CAT, PANTHER

pounds 21, 22 fireworks

Fantastic Fireworks judged this to be a "super box which contained many of the best fireworks from the other Black Cat selection, the Leopard. It's a pack with plenty of noise which would be the choice of each of us professional testers even though it also contained failures."

Jan Dalley, however, found this box little better than the cheaper version, the Leopard, and said it offered the worst value for money. "Lots of smoke; lots of noise; little effect. You'd do better to spend a little more money and buy the Brocks."

Corinne Julius complimented both the Black Cat boxes on their packaging. "The boxes were wrapped in cellophane and the fireworks in the boxes were protected by bubble wrap. The instructions were clear, with an additional separate safety instruction card." However, on balance said she would buy two Leopards in preference to one Panther.

STOCKISTS: All four of our selection boxes are widely available from corner shops throughout the country.