Police and ambulance workers responding to injured person attacked with fireworks

A police vehicle has been set alight after officers and ambulance workers were targeted with fireworks on Bonfire Night in Glasgow.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service were responding to a report of an injured man shortly before 8pm on Thursday.

Both crews were targeted with fireworks which resulted in a police vehicle being set alight and seriously damaged, Police Scotland said.

An ambulance worker suffered a minor injury and a male has been arrested, the force added.

A man has been arrested in relation to the incident, and inquiries are ongoing.

Firefighters attending to bin fires in the south of Edinburgh were also forced to withdraw as they faced anti-social behaviour.

In Oxgangs and around Colinton Mains in Edinburgh, bins were knocked onto the road and set on fire on Thursday evening.

Officers attended the scene, where a group of youth people had reportedly blockaded the road. Fireworks were set off in their direction, but no injuries have been reported.

The incidents came as a large co-ordinated police operation was launched to deal with disorder on Bonfire Night, known as Operation Amberlight.

Public order officers from across England and Wales, including in Avon & Somerset, South Wales and Hertfordshire were deployed as part of the operation to help deal with any fireworks-related issues.

It is the biggest deployment of officers since the visit of US President Donald Trump last year, according to Police Scotland.

With the additional police presence, Chief Superintendent David Robertson of Police Scotland said the force was prepared for all eventualities.

Calls for tougher regulations on fireworks have increased in recent years, as campaigners have raised concerns about fireworks being abused and the impact of loud noise on pets.

In 2021, Josephine Smith, 88, died from smoke inhalation after two teenagers posted a lit firework through her letterbox, setting her home ablaze.

The government has proposed taking the noisiest fireworks off the market by reducing the permitted decibel level of consumer fireworks from 120dB to 110dB.

Some especially high risk or "nuisance fireworks" are banned from sale to the general public, but are available to professionals, according to the Office for Product Safety & Standards.

The government has said an outright ban on the public from buying or using fireworks would not be proportionate.

(c) Sky News 2026: Police and ambulance workers responding to injured person attacked with fireworks