THE leader of a Scottish council has called for a ban on the public sale of fireworks.
City of Edinburgh Council leader Cammy Day made the plea on Thursday as he stressed the need to avoid repeating “shocking scenes” in the capital last year.
Emergency service workers were injured in disorder in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh on November 5, with footage from the time showing fireworks and petrol bombs being aimed at riot police.
The Labour councillor said while such incidents were “not unique to Edinburgh”, he was “clear that this sort of behaviour has no place in our city”.
Day condemned “the shocking scenes we saw last year with emergency services being attacked while trying to do their jobs”.
He added: “It’s long been my view that we need to ban the public sale of fireworks, given the potential risk to health if misused, but also the unnecessary fear and alarm they cause in our communities.”
As well as calling for a review of legislation, Day (below) said he would be writing to the Crown Office “to ask for tougher sentences for those found guilty of committing these crimes”.
Firework Control Zones (FCZs) have now been introduced in four areas of Edinburgh – Niddrie, Calton Hill, Seafield and Balerno – making it a criminal offence to use most fireworks between November 1 and 10 unless it is part of a licensed display.
Day said: “I’m determined to do everything within our power to prevent a repeat of last year.”
He met the police and fire service earlier this week as the council prepares for the new control zones to come into effect from Friday.
In addition, the council is stepping up waste patrols so staff can collect items which could potentially be set alight.
Day said: “Bonfire Night should be an opportunity for communities to come together to celebrate and spend time together. “I would urge everyone in the city to only attend organised displays and look out for one another.
“Police officers, firefighters and paramedics have a tough enough job already without being subjected to violence and abuse. Please show them the respect they deserve this Bonfire Night.”
Police Scotland Chief Inspector Mairi Creanor said: “Certain areas of Edinburgh experienced unprecedented levels of disorder during Bonfire Night last year.”
She added that a “significant number of officers” sustained injuries.
She said: “The unacceptable actions of a minority of individuals left communities in a state of alarm and put the safety of emergency service workers at serious risk of harm.
“Such offences cannot and will not be tolerated and detailed planning has been undertaken since last year to ensure we have appropriate resources in key areas and can provide additional support should they be required.
“It is an offence to use fireworks in any manner within a fireworks control zone and we will take appropriate action against anyone in breach of a zone over the Bonfire Night period.
“This is just one of the tools at our disposal and we’ll continue to work with key partners to keep our communities safe and bring those intent on causing harm to justice.”
Minister for victims and community safety Siobhian Brown said: “As Councillor Day has noted, a ban on fireworks is a reserved issue for the UK Government and not the Scottish Government.
“Within our powers we have introduced a number of measures to improve firework safety, including a ban on providing fireworks to under-18s and making attacks on emergency workers using fireworks an aggravating factor that courts can take into account when sentencing offenders.
“We have also provided local authorities with powers to designate firework control zones, which ban the use of fireworks in local areas, and these will be used for the first time this year in areas across Edinburgh over the Bonfire Night period.”
