Police seize 350kg of fireworks worth £12,000 ahead of Bonfire Night in Glasgow

Seizure in Penilee

Officers acting on intelligence searched a property in the Penilee area of Glasgow on Tuesday, 3 November, under a warrant. They recovered 350kg of fireworks worth about £12,000 that were due to be sold online before Bonfire Night. Police Scotland said part of the stock was capable of firing 600 separate rockets, and it believes the haul ranks among the biggest single seizures of fireworks in Scotland.

Chief Inspector William Campbell, the local area commander, said the find reflected effective community policing and local intelligence. He argued that removing the fireworks from circulation may have spared members of the public and emergency workers from being targeted in the days ahead.

“Prevention is a huge part of the work we do to help maintain public safety”

The matter will be reported to the procurator fiscal.

Halloween calls and street disorder

Police Scotland recorded 144 fireworks-related calls on Halloween night, 31 October 2026, a fall from 160 on 31 October 2025. Fireworks were thrown at people, buildings and vehicles in Glasgow, Tranent in East Lothian and Bonnyrigg in Midlothian. No officers were hurt, and inquiries to find those responsible are continuing. In Glasgow, a child was struck by a firework that had been thrown close to a pram. Firework Control Zones, where setting off fireworks is an offence, cover 14 areas of Edinburgh and four of Glasgow until early November, and dispersal zones apply in some other places.

2025-10-31160

2026-10-31144

2025-10-31

160 calls

2026-10-31

144 calls

Data from the article text

Operation Amberlight ahead of 5 November

Bonfire Night falls on Thursday, 5 November, and Police Scotland has planned its largest operation since the visit of President Donald Trump last year. The plan, titled Operation Amberlight, aims to protect the public and emergency services from fireworks-related disorder. As many as 1,700 officers could be deployed on and around 5 November to respond to such incidents.

Costs, noise and wildlife

A finance researcher writing on the hidden costs of fireworks argues that much of their burden falls on neighbours, health services and wildlife rather than on buyers. The commentary cites 123 hospital admissions in England attributed to fireworks in 2024-25, a count that excludes people treated without admission. It also cites the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs central damage estimate of £114,411 per tonne of fine particulate emissions (PM2.5) in 2025 prices, while noting that this is not a fireworks-specific figure. A peer-reviewed Dutch study found roughly 1,000 times as many birds in flight during New Year's Eve fireworks as on ordinary nights.

The Center for Wild Animal Welfare (CWAW) wants the maximum noise level of fireworks sold to the public cut from 120 decibels to 90, rather than to the 110 decibels the government proposed in its consultation. CWAW says a 90-decibel limit would make the area disturbed by each firework about a hundred times smaller than under the government plan. Its director, Richard Parr, said:

“Sound travels, and a loud firework can penetrate surprisingly far”

Parr added that wild animals could be affected at least as much as pets, because the bangs are unnatural and unannounced. Rebecca Machin, a wildlife expert at the RSPCA, said she shared those concerns and noted that impacts can include disrupted migration and elevated stress hormones.

Current limit120

Government proposal110

CWAW proposal90

Current limit

120 dB

Government proposal

110 dB

CWAW proposal

90 dB

Data from the article text