Mob of teenagers pelt police with fireworks in Manchester

Scenes of chaos erupted in east Manchester on Tuesday night as police were pelted with fireworks by a huge group of youths in the street.

A large mob of between 20 to 30 teenagers are understood to have built a ‘barricade’ on Vine Street, in Gorton, with wooden pallets and mattresses.

They started an illegal bonfire before fireworks were launched towards police officers and passing cars in scenes of disorder. Tactical Aid Officers and fire crews descended on the scene at around 6pm.

Two arrests were made for public order offences. Pictures from the scene showed a number of police vans in attendance in attempt to bring the situation under control, disperse the crowds and put out the illegal bonfire.

It is thought a number of innocent motorists were caught up in the crossfire as the flares were lit and thrown towards police vans on Tuesday night.

It comes as emergency services were put on high alert across Halloween and Bonfire Night, with police and fire crews on hand to tackle incidents of anti-social behaviour erupting across the region.

Officers were said to be out on patrol in ‘hotspot areas’ to tackle issues including nuisance fireworks, fires and crowds. Specialist resources are also on hand to be deployed.

Previously, Superintendent John-Paul Ruffle, force lead for anti-social behaviour at Greater Manchester Police, said: ‘Quite simply, we want to put the message out there that we will not tolerate anti-social behaviour, and especially attacks or abuse against emergency service workers simply doing their jobs during this period. Anyone who engages in such behaviour can expect to be met with the full force of the law.

‘Anti-social behaviour is not a low-level crime – it can cause people misery and we are absolutely committed to tackling it in whatever way we can.’

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