Communities living in fear of fireworks will repeat themselves as Bonfire Night looms

Terrified residents fear fireworks will turn Scotland’s biggest cities into “war zones” again – despite a crackdown by police.

Worried families have told how they fear a repeat of embarrassing Bonfire Night scenes specialist officers prepare to tackle troublemakers and council chiefs ban pyros in hotspots.

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Riot police intervened confronted by missile-wielding yobs last year, also in Niddrie, Edinburgh.

And local shop owner Bhubinder Singh, 46, worries that chaos will return despite a fireworks control zone banning pyros from November 1 to 10.

Mr Singh, who plans to close his Day-Today store early to avoid problems, predicted: “I think it might be worse.

“They shot at police cars.

“The police were everywhere – preventing people from coming out.

“This year we will close around four or five o’clock.”

Local residents recalled taking shelter indoors as rioters threw improvised missiles at police.

One woman, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said: “It wasn’t just teenagers. There were adults with young children.

“This person showed up with what looked like a drainpipe and was firing things at police.

“They exploded on the shields. It went on for hours.”

She feared the new control zone would be unenforceable and asked: “How are they going to stop you from setting off fireworks?”

And there were calls for tough prison sentences like those given to far-right rioters in the aftermath of the Southport knife attacks in July.

A neighbor said: “In the south, the demonstrators were arrested on Monday and jailed on Tuesday. We’ll see.”

Another householder warned: “It was terrifying, especially for old people. It’s never been this bad.”

We told how 60 thugs set fire to garbage bins, destroyed a house and… threw stones at terrified passers-by in Dundee’s Kirkton – in a repeat of the ugly scenes of 2022.

A shocked witness recalled: “Last year a rocket landed in the bottom basket of a mother’s stroller and exploded.

“There were fireworks bouncing through the windows. The police just stood there.

“They said it wouldn’t happen again. I can’t see it.”

The locals prepare for even more chaos.

One concerned mother admitted: “I don’t trust taking my kids out.

“In recent years there has been a lot of activity with fireworks.”

Retired maintenance worker William Dunn, 69, recalled the street fires last year. He added: “It’s crazy what’s going on.”

Elsewhere, residents fear a repeat of the chaos of 2018 when around 40 balaclava-wearing youths threw ‘industrial size’ fireworks at flats in Pollokshields, Glasgow.

Businessman Sajid Hussain, 64, told how a rocket thrown by yobs exploded in his takeaway restaurant.

Mr Hussain from Halal Kebab House warned: “It was only luck that no one was injured.

“Young people set off fireworks in the street.

‘They drop them off under cars and shoot them into barriers. It’s a game for them.

“They light them and then run into the dark. Apparently the police can’t do much about it.”

Fellow resident Mohammad Yasin, 69, admitted he was afraid of Bonfire Night thugs.

He warned: ‘I’ve even seen them throw fireworks out of moving cars. If you challenge them, you’ll get an earful.

“Closed doors are kicked in and fireworks are thrown inside.

“It’s a miracle that no one has lost an arm or been seriously burned.

“The police have increased their presence in recent years, but it doesn’t seem to have done much.”

Nanny Karen Boyle, 68, added: “I can’t even walk down the street.

“Not only children participate, but also adult men.

“Many are outsiders who come here because they think they can get away with it.

“It looks like a war zone.”

A proposed pyros ban in the area has been withdrawn due to a municipal error. Ammar Hussain, 32-year-old employee of Naflees Bakers and Sweets, complained about the hitch in the control zone.

He said: “It is very frustrating that the ban has not been implemented. There have been so many problems.”

Last night, Scottish Tory spokesperson Sharon Dowey called for more support for “understandably anxious” communities across the country.

She insisted: “The responsibility lies with the SNP to ensure our emergency services are well protected.”

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs, who is leading Police Scotland’s Operation Moonbeam fireworks chaos response, slammed last year’s “horrific” scenes.

He said: “A significant investigation was carried out in the weeks and months that followed and numerous people were charged.”

Last night a Scottish Government spokesperson said:

“The Scottish Government welcomes the significant amount of multi-agency partnership work by our emergency services, local authorities and wider community safety partners in preparation for the bonfire night period.

“We have introduced a number of measures to improve fireworks safety, including banning the provision of fireworks to under-18s and making targeting emergency workers who use fireworks an aggravating factor for courts to take into account when sentencing offenders.

“We have also given local authorities the power to designate fireworks control zones within their boundaries and these will be used for the first time in areas across Edinburgh during the Bonfire Night period this year.”