A POTENTIALLY lethal firework and 'Molotov cocktail' was found on a Gwent street, police have revealed.

Today Gwent Police issued a stark warning that whoever made the device is putting lives - including their own - at risk.

Police say that on Tuesday morning, residents in the Mount Pleasant area of Rogerstone discovered a firework strapped to a milk bottle filled with petrol after youths had been congregating in the area.

Police say that had it been lit, the 'cocktail' would have exploded immediately, resulting in horrific if not fatal injuries.

And in a warning to the youths responsible, community liaison officer PC Eddie Evans stressed that anyone caught playing with fireworks faces prosecution.

PC Evans told the Argus: "If this tampered firework had been lit it could have had disastrous consequences.

"The problems we deal with around here are the use of fireworks in a public place, which in itself is illegal.

"There are a lot of elderly people very frightened by them, and if we catch anybody doing it they will face prosecution.

"Fireworks on their own can maim, and to modify them hugely increases the potential for damage.

"These people need to realise they are taking theirs and other people's lives in their own hands."

The woman who found the device said she feared a fatality. Speaking from her home in Mount Pleasant, the woman - who was too frightened to be named - said: "I heard some explosions the night before and thought something must have been thrown at my window.

"When I went out to investigate I saw a group of teenagers, and it was obvious they had been throwing fireworks as you couldn't see a thing because of the smoke.

"The next morning I found the incendiary device. I don't think they realise what the consequences of their actions could be. This could have resulted in a serious accident or even the death of somebody who had nothing to do with it.

"We shouldn't have to put up with this, but it's the same every year from Hallowe'en onwards.

"I think the parents should be more responsible. They may not know what their children are getting up to, but where do they get the money from?"

As well as prohibiting the sale of fireworks to anyone under 18, shopkeepers are barred from selling individual fireworks.

PICTURED: PC Eddie Evans with the potentially lethal incendiary bomb.