Fireworks and rocks thrown at fire crews on Bonfire Night

Fire brigades in the North East have reported violent behaviour towards their crews while on duty on Bonfire Night.

Both Cleveland Fire Brigade and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) said their staff had fireworks and rocks thrown at them while working.

The behaviour has been described as "unacceptable" and the services said CCTV and body-cam footage would be shared with the police.

TWFRS said they had 300 call-outs throughout Bonfire Night celebrations, with anti-social behaviour being a particular problem.

Phil Clark, area manager for TWFRS, said: "There are still areas where we do get attacks and things like that, I think we had five attacks last night.

"Stones, fireworks, rocks being thrown... Thankfully there's no injuries and there hasn't been much damage to appliances and equipment, because if we have to take an appliance out of service because of damage, that's one less appliance for us to respond with."

On Teesside, Lee Brown, head of training and assurance in Cleveland Fire Brigade, tweeted shortly after 8pm on Saturday 5 November: "So far tonight we’ve had several incidents of violence towards our staff who have been out checking on the status of bonfires such as fireworks or rocks thrown at them, this is simply unacceptable and any CCTV or body-cam footage we have available will be shared with the police."

Cleveland Police and Northumbria Police have been contacted for a response.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...