Teenager dies after fireworks ‘hurled’ down street – as violence mars Bonfire Night in parts of UK
A teenager has died after being found injured near to where fireworks were being “hurled”, as Bonfire Night was marred by violence and anti-social behaviour in parts of the UK.
The 17-year-old boy was found hurt in the garden of a property in Halifax, West Yorkshire, shortly after 8pm on Saturday.
He was taken to hospital where he died, police said.
Yorkshire Live reported that the teenager had jumped over a fence and crashed into a greenhouse after “scenes of chaos” on Vickerman Street, as a large group threw fireworks towards police.
An eyewitness told the news outlet that fireworks were being “hurled” in the street at the time the teenager was found injured and described the scenes as “horrendous”.
West Yorkshire Police has referred itself to the watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, over the incident after officers had been called to the street “due to fireworks being set off”.
It came as police across the UK reported violence and anti-social behaviour linked to Bonfire Night, with disorder in Edinburgh branded “disgraceful”.
In West Yorkshire, riot officers were called in to deal with disorder in Leeds when fireworks were thrown towards police in the city’s Hyde Park area.
Elsewhere, four youths were arrested after police and fire service vehicles were attacked in the Bradford Moor area in the run up to Bonfire Night.
In Liverpool, two men were shot in an “horrendous incident” close to a Bonfire Night party.
Edinburgh’s council leader said there were ‘disgraceful’ scenes in the city
The victims suffered serious leg injuries and a suspect, dressed all in black, reportedly ran from the scene in Netherton at about 11.20pm on Saturday, Merseyside Police said.
In Greater Manchester, firefighters said they attended more than 200 incidents on “another busy Bonfire Night”.
In Eccles, a firework was thrown at firefighters who were trying to put out an unsupervised bonfire.
Fireworks were also aimed at crews responding to an incident in Crumpsall Park, Manchester, and a firework was reportedly put through the letterbox of a home in Salford.
In Edinburgh, a road was blockaded with fire and motorbikes raced through part of the city amid Bonfire Night chaos on Saturday.
Footage shared online showed a motorbike gang racing in the streets with fireworks being set off along the ground, seemingly aimed at people and vehicles.
Edinburgh’s council leader Cammy Day criticised the scenes, saying what happened was “disgraceful and disgusting”.
A woman has been filmed cutting yellow ribbons tied to a gate in London, put up in commemoration of Israeli hostages.
When confronted by two bystanders near the gate in Muswell Hill, north London, the woman said: “I’m not committing a crime.
“If I am, then call the police and you let them know that you have an issue with this.”
In the video, a man branded the woman “a disgusting little human being,” to which she replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting.”
The bystander asked her: “So we’re condoning genocide?”
The woman then appeared to point at the ribbons and said: “That’s what this is.”
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Pic: X/@mirandalevycopy
The yellow ribbon has been used as a symbol of the plight of those taken captive since the 1979 US-Iranian hostage crisis, and has become synonymous with the hostages held in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
The ribbons are used as part of the ‘Bring Them Home’ campaign, which was introduced to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight and help amplify calls for the unconditional release of those still held by Hamas.
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Two years on from October 7 attacks
The Metropolitan Police told Sky News: “Officers have stepped up reassurance patrols in the Muswell Hill area, following reports that yellow ribbons were removed from fence poles.”
A spokesperson said the force was made aware of a video circulating online which “appears to show a woman removing the ribbons in Muswell Hill” at 4.25pm on Monday.
“Officers attended the location and are reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed. Enquiries remain ongoing,” the spokesperson added.
Officers are asking anyone with information to contact the force.
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The incident happened just a day before the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s offensive has killed more than 67,000 people in the region since 7 October 2023. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says more than half of those killed are women and children.
Ineos, the chemicals group founded by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has hit out at the government after cutting a fifth of the workforce at a factory in Hull.
The company said 60 skilled jobs were going at the Acetyls factory “as a direct result of sky-high energy costs and anti-competitive trade practices, as importers ‘dump’ product into the UK and European markets”.
It called on the UK government and European Commission to impose trade tariffs on China, complaining that a lack of action to date had resulted in “dirt cheap” carbon-heavy imports flooding the market, making its products uncompetitive.
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Ineos said the US had protected its manufacturing base through effective tariffs and warned that further jobs would be lost across Europe unless the authorities followed suit.
The company, founded by Sir Jim in 1998, is Europe’s largest producer of essential chemicals for a range of products including aspirin and paracetamol, adhesives and industrial coatings.
It recently invested £30m to switch its Hull plant energy source from natural gas to hydrogen. Ineos claimed Chinese competitors were emitting up to eight times more carbon dioxide than its UK operations.
The Saltend plant in Hull. Pic: Ineos
“This is a textbook case of the UK and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation,” the firm’s statement said.
“Ineos has invested heavily at Hull to cut CO₂, yet we’re being undercut by China and the US while left wide open by a complete absence of tariff protection.
“If governments don’t act now on energy, carbon and trade, we will keep losing factories, skills and jobs. And once these plants shut, they never come back.”
A Government spokesperson responded: “We know this is a tough time for our chemicals industry, who are paying the fossil fuel penalty, with wholesale gas costs remaining 75% above their levels before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Our modern Industrial Strategy is slashing electricity costs by up to 25% for sectors including chemicals, and the UK’s independent Trade Remedies Authority has the power to investigate the impact of cheap imports if requested by industry.
“We recognise this will be difficult for affected workers and their families, and we continue to engage with Ineos and the wider sector to explore potential solutions that will ensure a viable chemicals industry in the UK.”
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