850kg of fun: German police discover unprecedented volume of fireworks at man’s home ahead of NYE

A man from Hamburg apparently wanted to upstage everyone in the upcoming New Year’s celebrations but his rockets didn’t fly as police had to call in a bomb disposal unit to seize 850kg of fireworks from his home.

Witnesses tipped off police that a 23-year-old man had been hoarding too much fireworks so the officers entered his apartment in Hamburg, northern Germany, local media reported.

The officers arrived with just a patrol car but they pretty soon realized that they had to call in a bomb disposal unit. They discovered that the man’s apartment, cellar and two vans were packed with around 850kg of fireworks and firecrackers, which contained around 80kg of explosive substances. It is 80 times the legal limit set for storing fireworks in private residences.

The stash of fireworks was said to cost between 4,000 to 5,000 euros.

It is not entirely clear why the man acquired such great amounts of pyrotechnics, but his wife said he purchased it all for “personal use.”

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Whatever the case may be, the owner of the gigantic stockpile might now be charged with violating rules on storage of explosives.

“Fortunately, nothing bad happened,” the police spokesperson told the media on Sunday.

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