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 per cent expressing concern for their safety, Damian Green, the policing minister, has predicted that “someone could get killed”.

A government-endorsed campaign aims to tackle the problem with pyrotechnic detection dogs, amnesty bins, an advertising campaign and improved camera surveillance and body searches. In the first three months of this season, there were 96 pyrotechnic incidents.