Fireworks Supplier and Director Plead Guilty to Illegal Storage Offences
Platinum Home Cinema, and its sole Director, Chase James Gardiner, 42, both of Hales Road in Cheltenham, appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates Court today (Tuesday, May 26) to be sentenced in relation to four breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Explosives Regulations 2014.
Platinum Home Cinema, which sold fireworks and organised displays under the trading name Chase Lane Fireworks, previously pleaded guilty to the four charges on April 22, 2026.
Mr Gardiner was fined a total of £3,986, Platinum Home Cinema was fined an additional £11,200, with costs of £10,634.30 awarded to the county council. The total fine paid between the defendants was £25,820.30.
The charges related to events that took place in July 2024. The four charges related to overstocking explosives by 36% in one of their licensed stores, storing explosives at an unlicenced location, storing explosives without meeting separation distances, and failing to take steps to prevent fire or explosion, prevents its spread and protection people from its effects.
In July 2024, Trading Standards Officers from Gloucestershire County Council, which is the licensing authority under the Explosives Regulations for the storage of up to 2,000kg of explosives, were alerted to the unlicenced storage of fireworks at a working livery yard in Shurdington, near Cheltenham.
Trading Standards Officers, authorised to enforce Health and Safety legislation, visited the livery yard and found three shipping containers which between them, contained 1,220kg of fireworks. The figure, 1,220kg, refers to the net mass of explosives substance within the fireworks, not the gross weight of the fireworks themselves. The fireworks found included those for use only by firework display professionals.
The three containers that were being used to store the fireworks, were rusted, had holes in and had doors that didn't close fully. As such, they were not suitable for the storage of fireworks. Rust and bare metal inside a shipping container can be a source of sparks, and holes can allow ingress of water which can adversely affect the operation of a firework.
Inside the containers, whilst many fireworks were still sealed in their transport packaging, other fireworks were loose or in boxes that had been torn open preventing them from being effectively sealed closed by interleaving the flaps. Fireworks should be kept in their original transport boxes until they are sold or used as this packaging provides a level of protection.
The location of the containers within the livery yard breached separation distances from other buildings and residences. Separation distances are "safety buffer zones" that keep fireworks far enough away from people and buildings so that if something goes wrong, the consequences are reduced. The containers were next to livery yard buildings, near stables and too close to homes. A prosecution expert report highlighted a significant risk of serious injury or fatalities, including to people both on-site and nearby. Even the defence expert acknowledged that fatalities could not be ruled out, particularly for those in close proximity.
Platinum Home Cinema was instructed to take the fireworks to a licenced storage and to return any excess fireworks to suppliers within 24 hours. Had Platinum Home Cinema have applied for a storage licence at this site, it would have been refused on the grounds that separation distances between the containers and occupied buildings could not be met and the containers were not suitable for storing explosives due to their poor condition.
In addition to the issues found at livery yard, records produced by Platinum Home Cinema Ltd and Mr Gardiner during the course of the investigation identified that they had been storing too many fireworks in one of their licensed stores. Their licence permitted the storage of 800kg but their records showed they had 1,091kg, which is a 36% overstock. Separation distances are determined by the quantity of fireworks being stored and by over stocking, they were unable to achieve the required separation distance.
Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Communities and Fire at Gloucestershire County Council, said “This case highlights the serious risks posed by failing to follow safety regulations governing the storage of fireworks. The quantities involved, combined with the unsuitable conditions and proximity to the public, created a potentially dangerous situation.
“Trading Standards informs Fire and Rescue colleagues about the location of licensed stores for the protection of fire fighters. As this location was unknown, fire fighters would have faced unknown risks had they attended an incident at the livery yard.
“Licensing and safety controls exist to protect lives, and we will take action where these are ignored.”