Primary school age children are passing through turnstiles at some of England's most famous football grounds with pyrotechnic devices hidden in bags or concealed beneath clothing. A survey commissioned by the Premier League has revealed that eight-year-olds have been detected serving as "mules", smuggling flares and smoke bombs into games on behalf of older relatives

With a third of all supporters complaining of being directly affected by pyrotechnics during matches and 86% expressing concern for their safety, Damian Green, the policing minister, has predicted that "someone could get killed".

A government-endorsed campaign consequently aims to tackle the problem with pyrotechnic detection dogs, amnesty bins, an advertising campaign and improved camera surveillance and body searches.

The survey shows that, in the first three months of this season alone, there were 96 pyrotechnic incidents across the Premier League, Football League, Football conference and domestic cup competitions.

It is both a worrying and growing trend: during the entire 2012-13 that figure was 172, a sharp step up from 72 the previous season and only eight a year earlier. Significantly, last season saw 71 arrests for "possession of a firework/flare at a sporting event", an increase of 154% on the 2011-12 season.

After polling 1,635 fans the survey found that more than 50% had been at a game featuring pyrotechnics, 24% had experienced a smoke-obscured view, 10% had suffered smoke inhalation and 2% had been affected by heat from a flare.

Aware the possession or use of pyrotechnics at UK football grounds is illegal, with the worst instances punishable by prison sentence, the survey highlighted the growing trend of using children to "mule" the devices past stewards. It claims that at one Premier League match last season, an eight-year-old entered the stadium with pyrotechnics in his rucksack and was seen passing them to members of an adult group who let them off.

Cathy Long, the Premier League's head of supporter services, knows English fans have sometimes been lucky to escape far worse consequences. "There have been incidents across the world where people have had bad injuries or died," she said. "We've been lucky that our leagues haven't had such major issues yet, but we want to stop that from happening." In February a 14-year-old boy was killed at a game in Bolivia after being hit by a smoke bomb.

Small wonder two thirds of parents reported that increased pyrotechnic use deterred them from taking their children to matches. Anyone who feels this is being overprotective should talk to David Bryan, the assistant referee hit by a flare at Villa Park during a game between Villa an Spurs. Or the 15-year-old boy who suffered lung damage from a smoke bomb thrown during Villa's visit to Wigan in May.