FIREWORKS have been banned in four districts of a major Scots city to try and prevent a repeat of last year’s Bonfire Night carnage. Eight cops were injured after petrol bombs and fireworks were allegedly hurled at officers by around 100 thugs. 2 Violent disorder in Niddrie, Edinburgh last Bonfire Night Credit: Michael Schofield - Commissioned by The Sun Glasgow 2 Around 100 youths threw petrol bombs and fireworks at cops Credit: Michael Schofield Dozens of people, including youths as young as 12, were arrested after the mass disorder.
Councillors rejected calls for a city-wide ban after Scottish Government officials said they would be “likely to challenge” the move. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland also said they would struggle to resource and enforce a FCZ covering the entire city boundary, despite fears it could ‘stigmatise’ some communities. However, it has been announced Firework Control Zones (FCZs) will be enforced in the Edinburgh districts of Niddrie, Calton Hill, Seafield and Balerno from November 1 to 10 in a bid to crack down on the shocking scenes witnessed in recent years .
read more scottish news MURRAY MAKEOVER Andy Murray hit with fresh warning over renovations at luxury Cromlix hotel MORAY MANIA Cops called amid huge queues as fizzy drink re-launch causes chaos The new rules make it a criminal offence to use a firework in a zone on specific dates , unless as part of a display licensed by the local authority. But it’s feared even tougher powers may fail to clamp down on the mindless violence . David Morrison, station commander with fire service, said: “Whether there’s a firework control zone or not, year on year we’re still going to continue getting the anti-social behaviour from the ones that are non-compliant.
” Asked whether the service could cope with the introduction of a city-wide FCZ, Mr Morrison said: “To answer simply, no. Most read in The Scottish Sun IN THE WORKS Document shows Gers HAVE applied for planning permission for Celtic fan nets THE GONE SHOW Jermaine Jenas probe prompted other women to come forward with complaints CONFESSION TIME SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster publicly reveals which team he supports SPEAKS OUT Jermaine Jenas breaks silence after being sacked by BBC over 'unsolicited texts’ “We know we’re stretched to the limit year on year, to add this additional demand on us it would be remiss of me to say yes that will be no problem.” The SNP and Greens tried to make the ban for the whole city but were voted down.
Six people injured after stray fireworks go flying into the crowd at bonfire night display Cllr Kate Campbell, SNP, said: “We think it will be very confusing for people for there to be small areas where literally along the road it’s a criminal offence to have fireworks in your garden but further along the road it’s not. “We think that’s quite a difficult position. I personally feel there might be stigma attached to certain communities, but that also in doing this we’re not necessarily going to address the problem.
” A report said the Scottish Government “emphasised that the legislation was not intended to enable a FCZ to cover an entire local authority area and have indicated that, should one be implemented, they are likely to challenge this decision”. Val Walker, Labour culture and communities convener, said: “The guidance issued by the Scottish Government is clear that the zones are smaller zones within the area and not the whole city. “What weighs on me is the impact on our fire and police services, who have quite rightly .
. . made it clear they cannot resource it.
“This will be the first year of implementing these controls and the experience of this year will give us the basis to review that to have a longer consultation period to have more people, groups and organisations involved.” A ban in 12 districts of Glasgow is also being considered..
