Police and firefighters around UK gearing up to tackle Bonfire Night disorder

Emergency services are preparing for potential disorder in parts of the UK on Bonfire Night, amid concerns over the safety of firefighters from rising attacks and shortages of resources.Some communities have already been hit by unrest and antisocial behaviour in the days leading up to 5 November, with police in several towns and cities using enhanced powers, such as dispersal orders, to tackle groups letting off fireworks in public places.Seven people were arrested in Birmingham on Saturday after fireworks were set off in the city centre on Halloween, while the landlady of a Salford pub told how it was surrounded by “about 60 teenagers”, who shot fireworks at the building and harassed passersby.Forces in some hotspots have reassured members of the public there will be a greater police presence, while firefighters have urged people to end “unacceptable” attacks.A big policing operation is taking place in Scotland – the largest since the visit of the US president, Donald Trump, last year.Under a mutual aid agreement, public order vehicles and drivers will be brought in from English and Welsh police forces to tackle potential unrest on a night with rumoured far-right protest activity, while Celtic will play at home in Glasgow in the Europa League football match against the Turkish club Beşiktaş.Fireworks control zones are in place in parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow, banning the use of pyrotechnics, part of a crackdown aiming to avoid scenes from Bonfire Night in 2023, when dozens of police officers were injured.Officers standing in a line in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh on Bonfire Night in 2023 when people threw fireworks at riot police. Photograph: PAExtra officers will also be on the streets in West Yorkshire, where police said the period around 5 November was one of the busiest times of the year.Riot officers and police helicopters are routinely called to the Hyde Park area of Leeds each season to tackle disorder caused by people using fireworks as missiles.Thirty tonnes of illegal fireworks were seized in Bradford and Halifax before the Halloween and Bonfire Night period, which police said they hoped would help tackle misuse.A National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) spokesperson said: “Some people may feel more vulnerable to harassment and antisocial behaviour at this time of year.“We want people to go out and enjoy the season’s activities but they must ensure that they do not cross the line into antisocial behaviour and are mindful of the impact that their activity may have on more vulnerable people in the community.”Last year, firefighters were attacked with fireworks while dealing with a blaze at a block of flats in Liverpool.Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show 129 firefighters were injured in attacks in England in the year ending March 2025, compared with 96 the previous year. Of these, 13 suffered serious injuries.Figures from the Scottish fire and rescue service show firefighters suffered 16 physical attacks and 20 attacks on property and equipment in 2025-26.The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) chair, Phil Garrigan, said firefighters “put themselves on the line to protect others” and “should never face violence or abuse from the people they are there to help”.“Firefighters are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends, neighbours and members of the communities they serve. They return home to their families after every shift just like anyone else.“Every attack on a firefighter is unacceptable. As well as putting individual firefighters at risk of harm, it can affect their ability to respond effectively and protect the communities that rely on them.”A firework control zone sign in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. Photograph: Lucinda Cameron/PAThe Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said services were pushed “far beyond safe limits” responding to thousands of calls last Bonfire Night, which included a 10-year high in London.The FBU national officer Adam Taylor said fire services had been “decimated” since 2010 and called for an increase of 5,000 firefighters “to ensure that we can respond to these incidents safely with the right number of firefighters and in the quickest time possible”.He said fire stations had closed and hundreds of frontline fire engines had been removed from service “which will inevitably stretch the response and increase the response times”.Calls for regulation of fireworks have continued to grow alongside public concern, particularly around the safety of animals. More than 1.6 million people have signed Change.org petitions calling for regulations.The Scottish Greens on Wednesday called for a ban on private firework sales which they said would stop “dangerous, unorganised displays”.In 2024, an endangered baby red panda at Edinburgh zoo named Roxie died from stress caused by fireworks on Bonfire Night, according to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.Meanwhile, the National Sheep Association urged people to consider “a moment’s thought for the sheep in the next field”, warning that flashes and bangs from fireworks could cause ewes to miscarry lambs, and livestock to panic and bolt.