Thugs aged six pelt fire crew

CHILDREN as young as six attacked fire crews with stones at a bonfire in West Lothian, injuring one crew member.

• Firefighters came under attack while extinguishing a bonfire

Six firefighters from Bathgate were pelted with missiles as they extinguished the bonfire at King George V Park in Blackburn.

The gang of youths, believed to be aged between six and 16, hurled abuse before lobbing stones at the firefighters when their backs were turned. One of the firefighters was hit on the leg, sustaining a minor injury which did not require medical treatment.

The incident happened at 8.40pm on Thursday.

Councillor Michael Bridgman, convener of the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Board, today branded the attack "totally unacceptable" and called for tougher punishment to be meted out on offenders.

He said: "Our firefighters do a highly professional but very dangerous job and do not deserve to be harassed or attacked in any shape or form.

"If the perpetrators are caught I would throw the book at them and I ask that the courts do that.

"Certainly, there is a zero tolerance attitude against those who attack firefighters, but in the past we have had a couple of incidents but last year, certainly in my ward of Portobello and Craigmillar, there were no incidents of firemen being attacked.

"However, this should not happen and I would expect the parents of these children to do something about it. Firefighters do not need this sort of rubbish."

A spokesperson for the fire service said the youths were probably reacting to their bonfire being destroyed rather than luring crews in to attack them.

She added: "This is the busiest time of the year for our service and sadly this is also the time when violence to crews increases.

"We would like to make a plea to people to remember the vital role firefighters play in the community. Please talk to your children about the important job they do and the need to respect them.

"It is vital that firefighters can respond to emergency calls and extinguish fires without the threat of violence or abuse from the very people they are trying to protect.

"Responding to multiple reports of unsupervised bonfires also puts pressure on resources. We would encourage people to attend organised events instead as poorly sited fires can be dangerous, quickly get out of control, risk injury to those nearby and damage to property."