Abbeydale Road fireworks: Yobs turn Sheffield street into firework 'warzone'
Hooligans shot fireworks at buildings and aimed them toward anxious residents during a terrifying night on a Sheffield street.
Concerns were raised by residents near Sharrow on Friday night, and South Yorkshire Police has revealed that the force has also seen incidents of anti-social behaviour with fireworks in other parts of the city in recent days.
Pictures and video show fireworks being released towards buildings near the junction of Abbeydale Road and Sharrow Lane during Friday night’s incident.
One resident living in the area, who did not want to be identified, told The Star: “I was scared - this happened last year as well, and damaged my car the last time.
“There were about seven shops which shut up their shutters and closed while this was going on.”
He said of the fireworks: “The police came out pretty quickly, and have also had their drones up in this area. I had been going out with my daughter, but when we realised what was going on, and people seemed to be pointing them at us, we ran straight back into the house.
“It felt like a war zone. It was really loud when houses and cars were being ‘shot at’ with fireworks.”
One of Nether Edge and Sharrow’s ward councillor on Sheffield Council has also highlighted the problems experienced in his ward on Friday night.
Councillor Ibby Ullah said: “Some people thought it was funny to aim fireworks at others, buildings, and businesses. It’s not cool - it’s stupid and very dangerous.
“A local NE&S (Nether Edge and Sharrow) resident told me that he and his eight-year-old daughter were targeted while out for a walk. I can’t imagine how frightening that must have been for them.
“This kind of behaviour has to stop before someone gets seriously hurt.”
He said he had reported what had been happening to the police and the area’s safer neighbourhood officer, as well as Sheffield Central MP Abtisam Mohamed, and said he would like to see stricter rules on the sale of fireworks and stronger enforcement from the authorities.
Meanwhile, South Yorkshire Police has described action taken by officers on the streets over firework related anti-social behaviour in the run-in to Bonfire Night.
Officers from the Page Hall and Shirecliffe team have recently seized fireworks because of incidents on the streets.
Officers have been out on the streets over recent nights during what South Yorkshire Police describes as the ‘Dark Nights; period, and the force said the focus had been on tackling anti-social behaviour at the weekend.
They had been working “to ensure everyone can enjoy bonfires safely”.
The Sheffield North East neighbourhood policing team said on social media: “We have already seen anti-social behaviour with fireworks and we are working hard to remove these from the street.”
They posted a picture showing fireworks on a patrol car bonnet on Saturday evening, stating: “These are just some of the fireworks that we have seized so far this evening.”
Officers have also commented on the Abbeydale Road incident.
They told The Star: “At 10.53pm on Friday (31 October), we received reports of a group of youths setting off fireworks on Sharrow Lane.
“We received two further reports at 11.01pm of a group setting off fireworks at Crowther Place and Abbeydale Road, which are believed to be linked to this incident.
“No injuries or damage was reported as a result of these incidents.”
“Officers attended and searched the area to no gain.”