A police chief has condemned the “unacceptable and terrifying” Bonfire Night disorder that resulted in seven arrests, a police van being torched and an officer and a paramedic being injured in Scotland.

Ch Supt David Robertson of Police Scotland said there had been significant reduction in problems overall, compared with 2025, after the force deployed its largest number of officers since Donald Trump’s visit last year.

However, a police officer and ambulance worker sustained minor injuries after being attacked with fireworks while they were responding to a report of an injured man in Greenside Street, Glasgow.

A police van was then gutted after being set on fire in the same street in the Provanmill area of the city, where a 16-year-old boy was also arrested. In south-west Edinburgh, the Scottish fire and rescue service (SFRS) had to withdraw after trying to put out bin fires set by young local people.

In England, police arrested six people in North Shields near Newcastle upon Tyne after a number of officers were injured, with police and fire service vehicles damaged after fireworks and bricks were thrown at them.

A large group of people had gathered outside a supermarket after wrongly being told it was going to be a house of multiple occupancy (HMO).

As part of Operation Amberlight, Police Scotland had tried to prevent a recurrence of the violence that erupted in Edinburgh and Glasgow last year. Local councils imposed localised bans on fireworks in both cities, with police issuing 21 dispersal orders in Edinburgh and 13 in Glasgow.

“We saw a reduction in serious calls requiring specialist support, with public order officers only being deployed at one location for a yet relatively short period of time,” Robertson said.

“But sadly, we did still see attacks on police officers, firefighters, and the Scottish ambulance service, which is completely unacceptable.” While isolated, the violence seen in some areas was “really terrifying.

He added: “Those who were involved will be identified and brought to justice.”

Mairi McAllan, Scotland’s education secretary, said the emergency services were well-prepared. “The vast majority of displays went ahead without any problems, and that’s to be welcomed,” she told BBC Radio Scotland.

“But nonetheless, I would want to be absolutely unequivocal. Totally unacceptable that any disorder related to fireworks should be ongoing.”

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.

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 had called in assistance from forces in England and Wales, in 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 called up.

The SFRS received more than 800 calls relating to fireworks and bonfires between 5.30pm and 11.30pm on Thursday.

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.

In north-east England, two men aged 25 and 27, a 27-year-old woman and three teenage boys remain in custody after being arrested by Northumbria police on suspicion of violent disorder.

Ch Supt Daniel Whyte said he anticipated more arrests. “The shocking scenes we witnessed last night were completely unacceptable,” he said.

“Our officers and firefighters were met with violence, including fireworks and bricks being thrown at them and their vehicles. Anyone involved should be expecting a knock on the door.”

On social media, the mayor of north-east England, Kim McGuinness, said: “I’m disgusted by scenes of clearly pre-arranged violence in Meadow Well [North Shields] tonight carried out by a minority of idiots.

“These thugs apparently thought they were attacking a planned HMO, when in fact, it was destined to be a supermarket. This dangerous misinformation and the way it spreads has to be tackled and the stupidity has to stop – there is no excuse for it.”