Seven people arrested in Glasgow after Bonfire Night violence across Scotland

Emergency services targeted with fireworks and police vehicle set alight in Glasgow

Seven people were arrested in Glasgow after violence on Bonfire Night in parts of Scotland during which fireworks were launched at emergency services and a police vehicle was set alight.

In what it called Operation Amberlight, Police Scotland deployed the largest number of officers to deal with disorder since the visit by the US president, Donald Trump, last year.

Police and an ambulance were responding to a report of an injured man in Greenside Street, Glasgow, when a police officer and an ambulance staff member sustained minor injuries after both crews were attacked with fireworks and a police vehicle was set alight.

Fireworks were also thrown at members of the public in Clydebank and there were attacks on fire crews in the Knightswood and Castlemilk areas of Glasgow, Cumnock in Ayrshire, Larkhall in South Lanarkshire, and Blackridge, West Lothian.

Firefighters were forced to withdraw as they faced antisocial behaviour while attending to bin fires in the south of Edinburgh, while police were targeted with fireworks in other areas of the city.

Police Scotland said officers and ambulance crews were called to reports of an injured male on Greenside Street in Glasgow shortly before 8pm.

A spokesperson for the force said: “During this time both crews were targeted with fireworks resulting in a police vehicle being set alight and seriously damaged. One of the ambulance staff sustained a minor injury. Operation Amberlight specialist resources were deployed, and one male has been arrested. Inquiries are ongoing and police maintain a presence in the area.”

Police also went to the Kirkton area of Dundee after reports of a significant group of individuals gathering and setting illegal fires.

As part of its Bonfire Night policing operation, Police Scotland called in assistance from forces in England and Wales, as it mounted the biggest deployment of officers since the visit by Trump to Aberdeenshire in 2025. Officers from as far afield as Avon and Somerset, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and south Wales were expected to be on the streets of Scotland.

The Scottish fire and rescue service received more than 800 calls relating to fireworks and bonfires between 5.30pm and 11.30pm on 5 November.

Police said that between Halloween and 5 November they received 1,024 fireworks-related calls. While this was up on the 833 calls received in 2025, police said there had been a reduction in the number of incidents requiring a specialist public order response across the country.