Scotland Fireworks Campaign

“Don’t Let Bonfire Night Turn to Chaos” 

pleads charity as new campaign launched across Scotland 

With Bonfire Night approaching, two major campaigns were launched last week across Scotland by independent charity Crimestoppers and its youth service Fearless. As the initiatives gather momentum, the charity is today urging both young people and adults to play their part in preventing the kind of fireworks-related disorder seen last year.

The charity’s dual approach aims to reach both young people and adults, following significant fireworks-related disorder in pockets of Scotland in 2024.

Emergency workers were attacked, communities disrupted, and animals harmed - including the tragic death of baby red panda Roxie at Edinburgh Zoo – on Bonfire Night last year.

Giving young people a voice

Fearless’ new campaign has been co-designed with young people themselves. It followed a major engagement event last month that brought together over 160 young people, emergency services and third sector partners.

Insights from the event showed:

• Adults supplying fireworks illegally to under-18s is a major concern.
• Alcohol, peer pressure and social status are strong motivators for misuse.
• When they hear the impact of fireworks misuse, young people really do care.
• Young people want safer, silent community alternatives and feel unfairly stigmatised for the actions of a minority.

These findings have helped shape the Fearless campaign, which will run on Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, with content designed by and for young people. It’ll include a youth-created soundtrack, “red flag/green flag” videos and impact stories from firefighters, bus drivers, animal carers and more.

Resources have also been developed for parents, carers and youth workers, giving them the tools to start supportive conversations with young people and to understand the laws in place.

Adults must play their part

The Crimestoppers campaign, launched in parallel, is focusing on adults - calling on communities to speak up 100% anonymously about illegal firework sales, proxy purchasing and planned attacks on emergency workers.

Lyndsay McDade, Fearless Scotland Manager said:

“The vast majority of young people already make safe, positive choices. They care about their families, their friends, and their communities. But risks increase when there’s peer pressure, lack of knowledge or when adults put them in unsafe situations by supplying fireworks illegally.

“Behind every poor decision by a young person, there’s often an adult who has placed explosives in their hands. That’s why it’s so important that if you know who is selling, buying or supplying fireworks to under-18s, you speak up before serious harm occurs.

“This campaign is about equipping young people with knowledge and confidence, while also supporting adults to have positive conversations. By listening and working with young people, we make them part of the solution – and that benefits all of us across Scotland.”

Angela Parker, Scotland National Manager at Crimestoppers, added:

‘Our charity believes everyone has the right to feel safe. We want everyone to have a safe and fun Bonfire Night, but we are here for communities and front-line crews who experience serious disorder and fire-raising attacks Our guarantee of anonymity has already prevented serious attacks on crews, so we know that it’s vital that people speak up if they know who is involved.”

Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said:

“We want everyone to enjoy Bonfire Night safely and responsibly.

“Misuse of fireworks puts communities and emergency services at risk and the Crimestoppers and Fearless campaigns are a stark reminder of the harms that can be caused.

“The Scottish Government has brought in a number of measures to improve firework safety, including a ban on providing fireworks to under-18s and making attacks on emergency workers using fireworks an aggravating factor that courts can take into account when sentencing offenders. We have also provided local authorities with powers to designate firework control zones in local areas and a number of these are/will be in place this year.

“I would encourage anyone who has information or concerns about criminality to report it. This can be done anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or visiting the Crimestoppers or Fearless website.”

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs from Police Scotland said: 

“The campaigns by Crimestoppers and Fearless are vitally important to the multi-agency commitment to tackling fireworks-related disorder over the Bonfire Night period, as they encourage the public to make positive choices when it comes to fireworks and not engage in activities that can have a detrimental impact on communities across Scotland.

“We will continue to have significant local, national, and specialist resource in place throughout the key dates between Halloween and Bonfire Night to keep communities safe and respond to any incidents that arise, but we know that intervention and prevention work is equally important as the enforcement activity we undertake.

“I am grateful for the continued support and co-operation of all key partners as we work towards a shared aim of a safe and peaceful Bonfire Night period.”  

Learn more about the Fearless campaign HERE