Five sentenced over Bonfire Night mayhem in Craigentinny

Five young men, who were part of a mob of 50 youths, who brought terror to residents in the Restalrig and Craigentinny area of Edinburgh on Guy Fawkes' night last year, have been placed on Restriction of Liberty Orders for six months.
Cars were set on fire on Bonfire Night last yearCars were set on fire on Bonfire Night last year
Cars were set on fire on Bonfire Night last year

For about three hours on the night of November 5, gangs of youths caused in excess of £40,000 of damage by throwing fireworks at each other, members of the public, property and cars.

Three cars were burned out, one of them being put onto a bonfire. When the Police and Fire Service were called in, fireworks and rocks were thrown at them and they had to withdraw for safety reasons.

Residents were afraid to leave their homes.

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Five of the youths, Lewis Park (20), Dylan Martins (18), Liam Willis (19), Dylan McArdle (19) and Connor Murray (18), who all lived in the area at the time, had pled guilty previously to being part of the mob, causing fear and alarm and concern for the safety of local residents, police officers and emergency service personnel.

Sentence was deferred until today for background reports.

Defence solicitors appearing for the five, told Sheriff Frank Crowe that their clients now appreciated that the events of that evening must have been a frightening experience for those living there.

The five, they said, accepted their conduct had shocked the community and was a serious matter. None, however, had been in trouble since then.

Sheriff Crowe told the youths that what happened on that night had attracted a lot of comment at the time and, more recently, in view of the forthcoming Guy Fawkes’ Night celebrations.

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Their actions, he added, bore no relation to Guy Fawkes’ Night.

He told them he was placing them all on a Restriction of Liberty Order for a period of six months: “Making sure you are not out and about, causing trouble on the streets”.

Park was confined to his home between 7 pm to 7 am, Martins from 9 pm to 8 am, Willis from 8 pm to 7 am, McArdle from 7.30 pm to 7 am, and Murray from 7 pm to 7 am.