Every year children are warned of the dangers of playing with fire and of fireworks.

They are dangerous and have the potential to seriously injure or even kill.

And that is why we praise the 11 stores who refused to sell fireworks to us in a spot check using an underage buyer.

The one store that failed our test — and should hang its head in shame — is Tesco. Its Cowley Road Metro shop sold a pack of rockets to a 15-year-old girl.

Worryingly, this was in the presence of a supervisor and in the light of the supermarket giant having a policy where fireworks are not supposed to be sold to those who appear to be under 21.

Last year, a firework was put through the letterbox of a Headington house where a family were sleeping, wrecking their home.

The culprits — teenagers Lewis Colwell and Jamie Matthews — were ordered to carry out community service, despite being convicted of reckless arson.

This is an extreme example of what fireworks in the wrong hands can do, but one reason why they should only be sold to adults.