Lincolnshire Trading Standards warning over fireworks being 'misused by terrorists'

A tweet put out this afternoon (Saturday) tells traders: “Your vigilance in reporting suspicions can help the authorities detect and disrupt such activities”.

The poster-style tweet gives advice to shopkeepers on how to spot suspicious transactions and the details to record to help the authorities trace the people involved.

These include making a note of the age, build, hair colour and hairstyle of anyone involved in a suspicious transaction, which could include attempts to buy multiples of the same item, refusal to buy fireworks with a lower explosive content and an insistence on paying in cash, especially large amounts.

Trading standards advise shopkeepers to keep receipts, ID details, CCTV records and “to preserve items handled by the customer for fingerprinting”.

• Full details are on the tweet with this article.