Copyright dailyrecord
Worried business owners in an area of Edinburgh rife with antisocial behaviour during Bonfire Night have shared their concerns as the date draws closer. Shocking scenes of carnage were seen in Sighthill last November with locals terrified by masked youths running riot and turning the area into a no-go zone. Eyewitness reports and videos from the Calder Road area showed bins being thrown onto the street and fireworks aimed at cars and a petrol station. Youths with 'bats and clubs' stormed the Hyundai forecourt and cars were seen with their windows smashed as the business was targeted before public order officers locked the area down. Staff working at premises around Calder Road have now shared their thoughts after enduring last year's chaos. Ashwin Raj, who works at the BP petrol station which was previously targeted, explained they are taking measures to prevent any serious incidents . He said: "They [youths] just jumped into the garage campus and pulled out waste and cardboard, and set fire to it on the road. The police have come round and given us advice, and head office told us to keep all the wood and flammable items inside. We'll increase our staff on the night as well. "But, without our access they can't do anything. The alarm [would ring behind the counter]. So if anything happened, we can stop [the petrol] completely from here." He added he believes the youths are wreaking havoc now, before they turn 18, so they can't be charged as adults. Brian Feggans, who works in Sighthill Appliances, just off Calder Road, said he thinks those involved involved have "no morals and no respect". He recalled: "Last year, the younger ones were throwing fireworks in the door. Thankfully nothing was damaged, but we'll be keeping the door closed this year. "I mean, the riot police were standing there and coming up and going back, but you would think they'd have been at both ends coming in because there's not many places you can run, but [the youths] were over at the houses putting fireworks through letterboxes and things like that. "I honestly don't believe it was local people and they've come from elsewhere. When I was in checking the vans, there was quite a wee crowd standing up there watching, seeing what they were doing, and they were actually throwing bricks at the police and they were putting their shields up to to stop it. There's only so much they can take." Muhammad Abdullah manages the Day-Today shop across the road. He said: "There were disturbing scenes last year. They just set fires on the road and they burned tyres and they just, they broke all the, you know, the [car] showroom. "I was just bringing my wife home back from her job and I saw some guys who were throwing stones and they had some kind of baseball bat with them. It was very scary. So I am very hopeful that this year it's not going to happen the same as previously." In 2023, specialist resources were dispatched on 26 separate occasions in Scotland amid Operation Moonbeam . Last year, 18 deployments were needed in the same period. Police said firework-related calls remained consistent, though the number of injured officers has reduced "significantly". A total of 62 officers across Scotland sustained injuries after being targeted with projectiles in 2023. The City of Edinburgh Council has listed Sighthill as one of its firework control zones , meaning it will be illegal to set off fireworks on public or private property between Friday, October 31 and Sunday, November 9. A Police Scotland Dispersal Zone will also be in effect in the wider Saughton area, which includes Sighthill, from 2pm to midnight between October 31 and November 5. Police constables will have the power to order people in any groups of two or more people they believe are causing, or may cause, distress to the public to disperse or leave the area of they do not live there.
