Children and parents packed old newspapers into unwanted clothes to make a host of colourful guys.

But their creations were spared from going on the bonfire on Thursday night when a south Norfolk village staged an indoor fireworks event.

Dozens of families packed into the new Pennoyer Centre in Pulham St Mary for what is thought to be the first indoor display in Britain.

The realistic bangs, pops, and whistles of a fireworks display filled the 15th century former guild chapel near Harleston as hundreds of colourful explosions were projected onto the wall.

The novel idea came from Pulham-based entertainment agency Add Some Music, which obtained an indoor firework projector from Japan.

Nick Worrall, from the PA systems firm, said it was too early to tell whether the new technology would prove more popular than traditional outdoor events.

'It is a bit of a novelty and we think it will prove popular with old folks homes and people who cannot go out for fireworks displays.'