UK Police and Firefighters Brace for Bonfire Night Disorder Amid Rising Attacks

Emergency services across the UK are preparing for potential disorder on Bonfire Night, 5 November, amid concerns over the safety of firefighters from rising attacks and shortages of resources. Leeds and Edinburgh are among the areas hit by fireworks-related violence in previous years.

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. The landlady of a Salford pub told how it was surrounded by about 60 teenagers, who shot fireworks at the building and harassed passersby.

A big policing operation is taking place in Scotland, described as the largest since the visit of 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, while Celtic play at home in Glasgow in a Europa League match against the Turkish club Besiktas.

Fireworks control zones are in place in parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow, banning the use of pyrotechnics, as part of a crackdown aiming to avoid scenes from Bonfire Night in 2023, when dozens of police officers were injured.

Extra 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 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.

A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesperson said some people may feel more vulnerable to harassment and antisocial behaviour at this time of year, adding that people should enjoy the season's activities without crossing the line into antisocial behaviour and should be mindful of the impact 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. Government figures show 129 firefighters were injured in attacks in England in the year ending March 2025, compared with 96 the previous year, and 13 of them 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 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. He said every attack on a firefighter is unacceptable and can affect their ability to respond effectively and protect the communities that rely on them.

The Fire Brigades Union 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 union's national officer Adam Taylor said fire services had been decimated since 2010 and called for an increase of 5,000 firefighters, saying station closures and the removal of hundreds of frontline engines would stretch response and increase response times.

Calls for regulation of fireworks have continued to grow, 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, saying it 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. The National Sheep Association warned that flashes and bangs could cause ewes to miscarry lambs and livestock to panic and bolt.