JONATHAN Fowler is hoping to see weeks of work go up in smoke.

He's part of the British team competing in the World Firework Championships in Spain next week.

"Part of the appeal is the adrenalin," he admitted. "It's not so much the danger because we are very, very careful with safety.

"But it's all about whether we can get it right on the night."

Mr Fowler, from Hartford, was invited to compete for his country after helping the Northern Lights team win the British title in Plymouth last year.

He'll travel to San Sebastien with Steve Larwood, from Middlewich and Andy Jones, both colleagues from Verey Special Effects, the firework firm he runs from a secret Northwich location.

"This is world class stuff," he added. "You will very, very rarely see any displays quite like this."

And the facts and figures back him up.

The 12-strong British team will take a full day to set up their 18 minute display, using two tonnes of fireworks and 10 tonnes of specialiist equipment. At one point over 1,600 Roman candles will be lit simultaneously.

Mr Fowler admits that when it comes to preparation, the sky's the limit, with the team using everything from chemistry to electronics to plan the perfect display.

"It's looking at what other people have done and what we've done before and trying to come up with something new and something even more exciting," he said.

The computer engineer has been fascinated with fireworks since childhood.

"I was always interested," he said. "My grandma bought me fireworks and then I started working on special effects.

"It's now quite a significant part-time job."

And although Mr Fowler no children of his own, his successful sideline has earned him some young admirers.

"My friends' children do seem to follow me around," he said.

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