BONFIRE night yobs are more likely to buy fireworks from Facebook or from the back of vans than from shops, Councillors were told.

Bradford Council's Shipley Area Committee were given a presentation on Wednesday night on how emergency services coped with last year's Bonfire Night.

Members were told that Shipley had avoided many of the more serious incidents seen in other parts of the district.

But overall serious incidents like attacks on firefighters were down across Bradford compared to previous years.

During the presentation, in Shipley Town Hall, members were asked if the number of shops that sell fireworks through the year had added to the number of anti-social behaviour incidents.

Heather Wilson senior youth worker at Council said: "Test purchases found that shops selling fireworks weren't the issue. One of the biggest concerns is the sale of fireworks on Social media. You can often track back the sales back to a Facebook page.

"We've also had lots of incidents where fireworks used in anti-social incidents were sold out of the back of someone's car."

She said the fireworks sold in such incidences were often more powerful than those people could purchase in regulated shops.

Inspector Kevin Taylor from West Yorkshire Police said: "We were confident that most shops we visited in Bradford were working within the law. The issue we had was people driving up from Liverpool or Manchester, parking up in Bradford and selling fireworks out the back of their van."

He told Councillors that people involved in dangerous behaviour on bonfire night were not always the usual suspects. He added: "They don't always fit the profile of young people involved in criminality. On many occasions you'll find incidents are caused by young people from good backgrounds with no previous contact with police. Maybe they feel it is the one time of year they can let off steam.

"Bonfire and Halloween is definitely the most challenging time of year for police in Bradford."