Disposal of flares
Devon and Cornwall Police no longer accept marine distress pyrotechnics (whether they are in date or time-expired) at police stations. For details of the safe disposal of flares, please see:
How to dispose of unwanted distress flares
Under no circumstances should time-expired flares be set off or dumped.
If you find a marine distress flare on a beach or below the high water mark, do not touch it, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Model rocket motors
You do not need a certificate for rocket motors less than 1kg net mass explosive (NME) listed in Part 1 or Part 2 of Schedule 2 part 2.
A certificate is required for rocket motors of 1kg NME and over.
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A store license is required for those over 5kg NME and fees may be incurred.
Fireworks
The bulk of firework issues are dealt with by Trading Standards in Devon and Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service in Cornwall.
Certain offences may involve the Health & Safety Executive.
The police have a limited role in this area but are responsible for the enforcement of the Fireworks Regulations 2004, specifically:
- Regulation 4 (bans the possession fireworks by under 18s in a public place)
- Regulation 5 (allows only a fireworks professional to hold Category 4 fireworks)
- Regulation 7 (prohibits certain fireworks during night hours)
Police are also responsible for governing fireworks that require a certificate under the Explosives Regulations 2014 (ER2014).