British Firework Championships celebrate 25th anniversary

A special sequence marking the Platinum Jubilee is forming part of the British Championships in Plymouth this week.

The Championships are celebrating their 25th anniversary, with organisers saying there are special plans to mark the Queen's 70 years on the throne.

Six companies will vie for the best display on Wednesday and Thursday, in the competition that began in 1997.

Last year's winner said the event "takes weeks for the prepping and organising".

Rob Byles, from Aurora Fireworks in West Sussex, told BBC Radio Devon if it was a commercial show he would charge about £30,000 for the same display.

"There's an enormous amount of skill that goes into it", he said.

"But Plymouth is the main fireworks competition in the country, when we won it was amazing and it's done us very well."

Last year the team used 545kg (1,200lb) of gunpowder, just under the 550kg (1,212lb) limit.

Proceeds from programme sales for the event - run by Plymouth City Council in partnership with The Event Services Association - will go to the RNLI, organisers said.

The first display is due at 21:30 BST on both days, with each lasting 10 minutes, and 10 minutes between shows.

Devon and Cornwall Police said drones owned by the public were banned in airspace over the seafront and the city centre between 15:00 and 01:00 the following morning, on both days of the competition.

Officers would be operating police drones at the event "in the interest for public safety", the force added.

In 2020 the event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 1998, the show was able to go ahead despite the discovery of a nearby unexploded World War Two bomb.

In 2012, displays went ahead but judging was suspended because of poor weather conditions.

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