TWO bargain shop bosses from Bolton have been fined after reports that they were selling industrial fireworks from the back door of their store, a court heard.

When inspectors carried out a spot-check at the shop, they found fireworks were not being stored safely.

Store manager, Aamir Dema, aged 22, and company director, Sohail Goder, aged 25, who ran the Original Pound Store in Albert Road, Widnes, admitted four offences of failing to store fireworks safely at Halton Magistrates Court.

Dema, of Barbara Street, Daubhill, and Goder, of Romley Chase, Belmont — who are now unemployed — were each fined £440 plus a £15 victim surcharge and must pay £980 costs between them.

Inspectors carried out a spot-check at the store on November 4, 2011, after reports that industrial fireworks were being sold at the back door, the court heard.

Magistrates said that the fines would have been in the thousands had the defendants still been running the shop.

Two earlier inspections found that staff were complying with strict rules to store fireworks in locked cabinets.

But a large amount of fireworks were found piled up in cardboard boxes, lying on the floor all over the shop during the spot-check.

There were far more of them than could have fitted into the locked cabinets.Goder apologised for what happened.

He said it had been a difficult year and they had decided to sell fireworks at the request of customers.

He said he had instructed his staff about the safe handling of fireworks and had invested in storage cabinets with crocodile locks.

Dema said that he was in an upstairs stockroom when a large delivery of fireworks arrived.

He said staff had used their initiative to sort out the fireworks, which was a mistake.

As manager, he accepts he was responsible.

Goder told magistrates that the company had ceased trading due the economic situation and other factors.