Cyclone Wheel

Three wheels in a pack, each one throwing red, green and silver sparks as it spins.

Wheels are the piece people forget to buy, and they are worth having because they do something nothing else in a display does. Everything else sends its effect upward; a wheel keeps it at eye level, spinning against a fence post or a shed wall where everyone can see it properly. Children who find the bangs too much will usually watch a wheel quite happily.

Getting three in a pack is the useful part. You can put one up early while people are still gathering, run another between your barrages, and keep the last for the end — or mount all three across the garden and fire them together for a wall of spinning colour.

A word on setting them up, because wheels are the easiest thing to get wrong. Fix each one to a solid wooden post using the pin supplied — a fence panel flexes and is not solid enough. Before you light it, spin it by hand: it should turn freely without wobbling off. Too tight and it will not spin at all; too loose and it leaves the post.

8 metre safety distance — our garden category, so a normal back garden will take it. Pace it out in daylight before you fix anything to a post. Category F2, over-18s only, ID required.