Fireworks should be sold in packaging that shows graphic images of the life-changing injuries and burns they can cause, a group of leading plastic surgeons has said.

It would help to prevent accidents that often leave people disfigured and blinded, The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) claimed.

Speaking ahead of Bonfire Night, the group called for a new law to make pictures of mutilated faces, eyes and limbs mandatory on all fireworks packaging.

Rockets, sparklers and Catherine wheels are often sold in brightly-coloured boxes and given playful names such as "big boom", "star striker" and "raging raptor".

BAPRAS president Mark Henley said: "Although packaged as toys, these are serious explosives, and the types of reconstructive surgery being required would not be out of place in a war zone."