Dad considers moving family after blind daughter left 'petrified' by Edinburgh Bonfire Night riots
Aaron Afshari, who has lived in Oxgangs for 13 years, said he had never seen anything like it
A father whose blind daughter was left “petrified” by the scenes on the streets of Oxgangs on Bonfire Night has said he is considering moving his family away from the area.
Aaron Afshari, a father of two teenage girls, returned home from a family meal on Thursday evening to find the streets around his home “on fire”.
“When we got out the car there was smoke everywhere. You couldn’t breathe because there were so many fires everywhere from the wheelie bins which had been set alight,” said the 42-year-old.
He noticed the shutters on the Scotmid store had put its shutters down and the windows had been smashed. He later spoke to the shop manager who told him youths had been throwing “firebombs and rockets” directly at the store.
“We drove around to our street where you can see Oxgangs Drive,” he said. “There was about 100 police in riot gear, with barricades up against a bunch of kids.
“They were throwing glass bottles at police, and residents were out trying to clean up the glass.
“There were fires outside disabled residents’ houses, the youths had taken their bins from their driveways and set fire to them in the middle of the road.”
“My kids have never experienced anything like it. They are petrified.”
Mr Afshari said he had never witnessed disorder on that scale before in the area, and believes the youths gamed the system by travelling to areas without a Firework Control Zone in place to cause trouble.
He said the streets were still covered in melted plastic on Friday and he and his daughter had to dodge firework cannisters and smashed glass walking to school on Friday morning.
“The area has gone downhill, and seeing all of this last night has put me off wanting to stay here any longer,” he said.
“My daughter is blind, and it would be hard to move her because of the specialist help she gets. But now my kids are scared to be here.”
Police said a total of 21 Dispersal Orders were issued in Edinburgh, and said no one was charged in relation to any breaches of Firework Control Zones.
Seven arrests across the country were made on Thursday evening and investigations will now begin. Anyone with information is being asked to contact the police.
Speaking at Fettes police station on Friday morning, Chief Superintendent David Robertson of Police Scotland said officers saw a reduction in serious calls and “far fewer” deployments of specialist police.
However, he acknowledged that there were still attacks on officers, firefighters and the Scottish Ambulance Service during the night.
“We saw a reduction in serious calls requiring specialist support, with public order officers only being deployed at one location for a yet relatively short period of time,” Mr Robertson said.
“But sadly, we did still see attacks on police officers, firefighters, and the Scottish Ambulance Service, which is completely unacceptable.”
He said these attacks were “really concerning”, and he recognised that the behaviour seen in some areas of Scotland was “really terrifying”.
“I think in previous years we’ve seen disorder like that in multiple locations across Edinburgh for a long period of time,” Mr Robertson said.
“Last night in Edinburgh, it was one area. It was localised. It was short-lived. So I do think that’s a positive.
“But nonetheless, that behaviour is completely unacceptable, and those who were involved will be identified and brought to justice.”