Mindless West Lothian youths attack fire crews and aim fireworks at cars and homes on Bonfire Night

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Fire crews were attacked in a West Lothian village as they attended calls on Bonfire Night.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the firefighters had been pelted with missiles on Blackridge on Tuesday night, but thankfully there were not reported injuries.

Locals in Blackburn also reported fireworks being aimed at homes and cars.

In the run up to the event, SFRS had appealed to the public to be aware of the dangers of both fireworks and unsafe bonfires with a message to consider the impact of their actions on communities and emergency services.

Andy Watt, Deputy Chief Officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “I would like to pay tribute to the professionalism and resilience of our frontline crews.

“Operations Control firefighters answered over 1,000 calls tonight and have once again worked tirelessly to ensure we respond to those who need us the most.

“Unfortunately, several of our crews came under attack across Scotland, with six attacks within three hours.

“Crews were bombarded with missiles and fireworks while responding to emergency incidents.

“These attacks prevent our crews from bringing any emergency to a safe and swift conclusion, and can impact on our emergency service colleagues - including the police when they must escort us at the scene.

“This type of behaviour is, of course, carried out by a very small minority and we once again thank our communities for their continuing support and working together with us to stay safe across the Bonfire period.”

People in Blackburn also took to Facebook, furious that gangs of youths were aiming fireworks at homes and cars.

It comes just days after footage on social media showed several fireworks being fired in quick succession at Blackburn skate park on Sunday evening.

One said: “It’s absolutely outrageous what’s happening in here. Absolute disgrace kids are launching fireworks at police cars and any vehicles that go near the skate park and launching at everything in the area. Very dangerous please everybody stay safe police are doing all they can.”

Another said: “Just missed our neighbour by inches I hope they caught and charged police everywhere trying to catch them.”

Police Scotland said incidents of serious disorder during Bonfire Night had fallen this year throughout the country, following the launch of Operation Moonbeam in 2023.

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs, Gold Commander for Operation Moonbeam said: “I firstly want to recognise the outstanding courage and professionalism of all of those emergency service workers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep communities safe.

“Their actions ensured that some of the challenging scenes we witnessed this year did not escalate into mass disorder, on the scale of what we experienced last year.

“Nevertheless, the levels of violence and aggression police officers, fire service and ambulance service personnel faced in some areas was wholly unacceptable and a significant investigative response is now underway to identify each and every one of those involved and bring them to justice.

“In advance of Bonfire Night 2024, local policing teams across Scotland have worked diligently with local authority and third sector partners to make positive in-roads with communities and identify some of the root causes that lead to disorder. In addition, this engagement has resulted in an increase in the intelligence we have received from the public, allowing us to take preventative enforcement action before crimes could occur.

“Throughout Operation Moonbeam, we have utilised all legislation and policing powers at our disposal and we will continue our discussions with local authorities and Scottish Government to explore further opportunities for reducing fireworks offences for next year and moving forward.”

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