Police Scotland said officers and paramedics were attacked while responding to a call on Bonfire Night. A man has been arrested and inquiries are continuing.
A police vehicle was set on fire and an ambulance worker was injured after emergency crews were targeted with fireworks in Glasgow on Bonfire Night. Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service had been called to a report of an injured man shortly before 8pm on Thursday. Police Scotland said the vehicle was seriously damaged and the ambulance worker suffered a minor injury. A man has been arrested in connection with the incident.
What happened in Provanmill
The Scottish Sun reported that the incident took place on Greenside Street in Provanmill, and that the initial call was received at about 7.55pm. Police Scotland has not confirmed the location in the statement quoted here. Police said both crews came under attack while attending the call, which left the police vehicle badly damaged. Specialist officers from Operation Amberlight were deployed to the area, according to the Scottish Sun.
The force has not said whether the man arrested has been charged. It also has not said what happened to the man whose reported injury prompted the original call, or whether the ambulance worker was treated at the scene or in hospital.
A major policing operation
Operation Amberlight was set up to cover Bonfire Night, European football and possible protest activity. Police Scotland said it was its largest coordinated deployment since Donald Trump’s visit to Scotland in 2025. Chief Superintendent David Robertson said the operation was designed to manage the combined demands of those events.
According to Police Scotland, officers were brought in from 18 police forces across England and Wales to strengthen its ability to respond to serious disorder. The deployment coincided with Celtic’s Europa League match against Beşiktaş at Celtic Park, and police were also monitoring online images suggesting possible protests in Glasgow. No link has been established between the match, any protest and the Provanmill attack.
Separately, Police Scotland placed 20 officers at ten fire stations across Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire under Operation Academia. They could travel with firefighters to incidents where police protection was needed, according to ScottishNews.com. Police Scotland said this was separate from Operation Amberlight.
Fireworks seizure two days earlier
On Tuesday 3 November, police recovered about 350kg of fireworks, with an estimated retail value of £12,000, from a property in Penilee, Glasgow. The search followed information from members of the public, and police described the haul as potentially one of the largest of its kind in Scotland.
Police Scotland said some of the fireworks could fire 600 individual rockets, and investigators believed the stock was intended for online sale before Bonfire Night. The force said the seizure may have prevented the fireworks being used in attacks on emergency workers. A report is being prepared for the Procurator Fiscal. No connection has been established between the seized fireworks and the Provanmill incident.
Disorder in Edinburgh
Emergency crews were also targeted elsewhere on Thursday evening. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service told STV News that fireworks were thrown at firefighters and their vehicles in the Colinton and Oxgangs areas of Edinburgh.
STV reported that about 20 young people wearing balaclavas blocked Oxgangs Road North with pallets and wheelie bins, and that glass bottles and fireworks were thrown at emergency responders. Police confirmed a separate incident at about 5.30pm involving a road obstruction and fireworks aimed at officers. They said several small fires involving bins and parkland were extinguished, and that no one was injured. Firefighters also attended a fire in Murrayburn Park, Wester Hailes, shortly after 7pm and put it out with one engine.
Previous years and current restrictions
Police Scotland recorded 62 injured officers during serious fireworks-related disorder in 2023. It then introduced more specialist support, and one officer was injured in 2024, with none reported injured in 2025. The force said emergency calls about fireworks offences fell by almost 37 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, while acknowledging that some communities continued to experience attacks.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service recorded 77 attacks on staff in 2025-26, up from 59 the previous financial year. Sixteen were physical attacks, 20 involved property or equipment and 41 were verbal incidents. The figures cover the whole year rather than Bonfire Night alone.
Four areas of Glasgow were designated Firework Control Zones from 30 October to 9 November: Govanhill/Pollokshields, Broomhouse, Glasgow Harbour and an area near the Scottish SPCA. A separate dispersal zone in Pollokshields runs until 6 November, allowing police to direct people involved in or likely to cause antisocial behaviour to leave for up to 48 hours. The Provanmill incident was not identified as taking place in any of these zones.
