WAITRESS Suzanne Hayton will help make Bonfire Night go with a bang.

When she's not serving fish and chips, the 49-year-old is a qualified pyrotechnic staging spectacular firework displays.

With Diwali, Halloween and Bonfire Night, this is one of the busiest times of the year for Suzanne, a mother-of-two. She is putting on bonfire party displays all this week including a laser and lights show at Salterford House School in Calverton.

Suzanne splits her time between putting on displays in Notts and waitressing in her home city of Leeds. She was bitten by the bug after years of watching displays staged by her husband John, 54, a senior firer.

"I used to sit in the car reading while he was setting up and then I'd film it so he could watch it back but my filming was rubbish," she said.

So Suzanne decided to train as a pyrotechnic, which took six months of practical sessions and a written exam.

"You have to learn how to set them out safely, how far to put them from the crowd, the fall-out and weather conditions.''

She and her husband are usually based at Goosedale banqueting and conference centre in Papplewick, where they put on displays for weddings, birthday parties and graduation celebrations – but they can end up travelling all over the country.

Suzanne was part of the pyrotechnic crew at Nottingham's Riverside Festival, which used 1,768 fireworks. She has spent New Year's Eve entertaining revellers at Nottingham Castle and the Red House at Kelham.

One of the most poignant moments was a display for a cancer patient, who could not attend her work's Christmas party. When she was in recovery, the firm held a fund-raising party and firework display for her in Grimsby.

"She pressed the button to set the display off," said Suzanne, who found it an emotional occasion because her own sister died of cancer aged 49.

Nothing beats the excitement of putting on a good show, said Suzanne. "The adrenalin rush is amazing. When you light the fireworks and hear them thump and bang, it's a real buzz," she said.

Although Suzanne is not in favour of a ban on firework sales, she warned they should not be abused by pranksters. She said: "It is a serious business."

Suzanne was trained by and works for Ravenshead-based 1st Galaxy Fireworks, run by husband and wife Lee and Sam Smith.

lynette.pinchess@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk