Police have promised to track down the young vandals who threw fireworks and bricks at uniformed officers and firefighters during a chaotic Halloween night in Stockport.
The gang of thugs, described by one resident as '25 youths’, damaged homes on Northumberland Road, in Brinnington, at around 8.20pm last night (October 31) and hurled objects at homeowners.
When police officers and firefighters arrived at the scene the youngsters turned on them, hurling various items including bricks and fireworks.
Police have now issued a dispersal notice, which means they can move on any groups of people that gather in the area for the next 48 hours.
Homes and vehicles were damaged during the night of chaos but luckily no injuries were reported.
Officers investigating the incident are yet to make any arrests but Chief Superintendent John Webster, of GMP's Stockport division, vowed to find the vandals.
"We will never tolerate any kind of violence towards emergency services workers and members of the public," he said.
"The behaviour we saw from a select group of young people yesterday evening was inexcusable.
"I would like to remind this group that assaulting emergency services workers is a criminal offence. We will be finding the individuals responsible and they will face the consequences of their actions.
"We have set up dedicated patrols to target areas of Brinnington ahead of Bonfire Night on Friday and over the weekend alongside support from our partners to monitor issues.
"We would encourage parents to be aware of what your children are up to in order to ensure they are safe and respectful of our communities.
"And we are urging parents to inform us of any youths involved in this disorder so that we can take robust enforcement action."
Billy Fenwick, GMFRS Group Manager for Stockport and Tameside, added: “I was shocked to hear that some of my colleagues were subjected to an attack over the weekend.
"It is very lucky nobody was injured during this incident. Firefighters are working hard to keep the public of Greater Manchester safe and they should not be subjected to an attack for just doing their jobs.
“I urge the public to continue to support our emergency service workers, and please consider they could also be causing fire engines or a firefighter to be out of action. It is also a criminal offence to obstruct emergency workers when performing their duties.”
Describing the scene of the chaos last night, one resident said the group of youngsters set a fire in the middle of the road.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “They’ve taken my fence, and thrown fireworks at my home — to the point where we’ve had to move the cars from the house.
“The experience was quite scary to be honest. I was literally on the phone and thought ‘what’s that noise in my garden’?
“It was someone taking my bins, so I walked outside and asked if they wouldn’t mind bringing them back.
“Obviously you get hurled a bit of abuse, and they threw a firework towards my window so you could see the sparks from that."
Deputy Greater Manchester Mayor for policing, crime, criminal justice and fire, Bev Hughes, added: “Throwing fireworks at emergency service workers, who are there to help and protect, is absolutely disgraceful. To endanger the lives of firefighters, and members of the public who were also nearby, beggars belief. I strongly condemn these attacks and hope, as last week's arrests demonstrate, that those involved are caught and face the full force of the law.
“Our emergency service workers put their lives on the line every day to keep the communities of Greater Manchester safe, particularly during this busy time of year – they should never be subjected to attacks or abuse of any kind and it is now a crime to attack an emergency service worker.
“Each firefighter, police officer and paramedic is someone’s mum, dad, daughter, son doing their job and they deserve the upmost respect for what they do. I urge people to think carefully about their actions and consider how they would feel if their family member or friend came under attack just for doing their job.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting incident 3221 of 31/101/21.
Alternatively, details can be passed via our online live webchat function at www.gmp.police.uk.
Reports can also be made anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
