THE tonne of fireworks stashed in a Worcester lock-up garage has been described as a "timebomb" by alarmed trading standards officers.

The consequences of the explosives going up, along with the flammable chemicals found beside them, hardly bears thinking about.

Coming so quickly after the terrible fireworks accident in Battenhall, which left a man and boy with serious injuries on Monday, it begs some predictable questions. So predictable that we need only dwell on some answers today.

The time has come for a permit system to be considered which would govern the sale of fireworks outside of the traditional Guy Fawkes season.

It's a point we made in the summer, when residents of the city's Westside spent nights living in fear of impromptu displays set of by someone with an anti-social streak. It's even more relevant today.

It seems reasonable to us that a week either side of November 5, each year, is enough to fuel family functions.

The people you see selling fireworks at car boot sales should certainly be nailed. Otherwise, the bigger expressions of celebration should be left to organised displays.

We're realistic enough to admit, however, that such a permit system wouldn't solve the problem alone.

Some people would tuck a collection away for some fun at other times of the year.

And the truly determined would succeed in stashing their stock of rockets and bangers.

But we're confident that most people wouldn't bother. And we're sure that the annual casualty list - let alone the potential devastation of this week's garage find - would become a thing of bad dreams.