THIEVES are being urged to surrender a lethal haul of stolen fireworks - before someone is maimed or killed.

Concerned pyrotechnician Jitu Desai is appealing to crooks who stole between 30 and 40 boxes of professional fireworks, destined for organised displays, to give him a call.

He will travel anywhere to recover the explosives, which go off instantaneously.

The boss of G2 Fireworks, on Teesside, warned: "They are playing with their own limbs, with their lives. These are not air bombs you can buy at the corner shop, these are professional fireworks.

"I am not worried about the value, just the safety aspect. I am worried that the idiots who stole them will sell them on to children. I am worried, too, for the people who stole them because they don't know what they are handling."

The thieves chiselled their way in through the roof of a secure container holding 50lb boxes of commercial firework mortar and star burst shellsat G2's Billingham site.

The largest fireworks are packed 24 to a box, the medium ones, 36 to a box.

The thieves, who struggled on foot with their haul to get through gaps cut in fences, ignored boxes of small fireworks held in the same container.

Reinforcing Mr Desai's concern, Acting Inspector Dave Winn, of Cleveland Police, said: "These fireworks are for commercial use only and are extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.''

Mr Desai said: "The worse thing is that, because they are specialist fireworks, they have lengthy fuses - 26in-long for some of the big ones. But once you light the fuse they go off before you have time to turn your head."

Me Desair, who is the man behind Stockton's November 5 show, and pyrotechnic extravaganzas all over the UK, said: "It is essential that the people who have the fireworks give me a call, so I can go and collect them. I will get them from anywhere in the interests of safety.

"These cannot be handled by anybody. Even guys who have worked for me two or three years are not allowed to handle them on their own."

Mr Desai can be contacted on 0850 400597