BRADFORD saw more incidents and attacks on firefighters than anywhere else across the county over the Bonfire Night period, a new report has revealed.

Crews were called to 15 bonfires and 148 secondary fires across the district between November 1 and 9 last year, up from 14 and 99 respectively in 2015.

Leeds had the next highest figures with nine bonfires and 105 secondary fires, with Wakefield the lowest at just one bonfire and 33 secondary fires.

Overall, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) dealt with a total of 392 incidents in 2016, up 44 per cent from 272 the previous year.

A report due to go before the WYFRS Community Safety Committee today states that there were 21 recorded attacks on firefighters over the Bonfire weekend, up from 11 in 2015.

More than half of the attacks, 12 of 21, took place in the Bradford area, with four in Leeds, three in Calderdale, two in Kirklees, and none in Wakefield.

One of the worst attacks took place in Parson Street, Keighley, when a firefighter suffered temporary blindness and tinnitus after a lit firework exploded between his feet.

Crews had fireworks or bricks and stones thrown at them in a number of other incidents, forcing them to withdraw from tackling fires in Undercliffe, Girlington, Manningham, Barkerend, Lidget Green, Heaton, Laisterdyke, and Keighley.

The ‘Bonfire Review 2016’ report states: “Bradford was the location for many of the attacks. In particular the Undercliffe area was a hot spot. The number of attacks experienced this year is concerning and certainly warrants further work to look at how we can reduce and hopefully eliminate this kind of behaviour.

“We have run successful initiatives in areas that have been previous hotspots for similar events, and along with new initiatives we can look to build on this work in the future.”

Dave Walton, WYFRS deputy chief fire officer, added: “We will always work with West Yorkshire Police, where the evidence is available, to pursue a prosecution against those responsible for these attacks. We have good experience of identifying areas that have the potential to become a locality where we are exposed to such attacks.

“In such cases, we can undertake activities such as the removal of combustible waste from streets, the development of diversionary activities, or face-to-face engagement to highlight the problems it can cause in terms of the safety of the entire community. We are always open to developing new and innovative solutions to this problem.”

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