Lighting a flare at a festival could land you in prison for up to three months

Beginning 3 April, a new Policing and Crime Act has come into force outlawing the possession and use of any "pyrotechnic article" at festivals in England and Wales. The punishment is up to three months imprisonment and/or a fine.

This move follows a similar law which prohibits fans from letting off pyrotechnics at UK football stadiums - and comes after "considerable" public demand, as Solicitor Alex Chapman reports.

A "pyrotechnic article" is described as "an article that contains explosive substances, or an explosive mixture of substances, designed to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke, or a combination of such effects, through self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions."