Shopkeeper fined for storing cache of fireworks below tenement flats

Amjad Javed was fined £1500 after trading standards officers found the pyrotechnics in his Pollokshields shop.

Glasgow: Shopkeeper Amjad Javed fined for storing fireworks ‘unsafely’ below tenement flats in Pollokshields — The fireworks were stored in a ceiling void above a toilet. Supplied

24th Mar 2022

A shopkeeper has been fined after fireworks were found stored under tenement flats in his Glasgow shop.

Amjad Javed was fined £1500 after trading standards officers searched ASR Gift Centreon on Albert Drive, Pollokshields.

During the unannounced visit in October 2020, they found fireworks stored in a ceiling void above a toilet.

The pyrotechnics were seized due to their “extremely dangerous” storage and it was also discovered the shopkeeper was not licensed to store them at all.

Javed appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Wednesday, where he received a £1500 pound fine.

Gary Walker, Glasgow City Council’s head of community safety and regulatory services, said the items posed a “serious fire risk”.

He said: “Fireworks are essentially explosives and can be very volatile if stored incorrectly. The way these items were stored was extremely dangerous – especially as there were people living in the flats above.

“They posed a serious fire risk which was discovered and removed during the team’s visit.

“Antisocial behaviour involving fireworks is a real concern in the run up to Bonfire Night, particularly in areas like Pollokshields, and our trading standards team work closely with Police Scotland to ensure laws are adhered to.

“Council teams carry out regular spot checks on retail premises to ensure retailers are complying with all relevant legislation and it was during one of those visits that this issue came to light.”