Police are investigating “harassment and rioting” at Bonfire Night in Glasgow.

Officers are working to identify those involved in the disturbance in Pollokshields on November 5.

Two people have already been arrested, including a man who allegedly distributed fireworks from his car.

Local MP Zubir Ahmed, from Glasgow South West, branded the behavior “criminality and chaos” during an emergency public meeting to discuss the disorder.

A Police Scotland representative who was on duty the night of the disorder said officers had withdrawn and riot police were on alert to prevent “large-scale disturbances.”

The ban on fireworks planned for the area did not prosper due to council error.

Pollokshields was due to gain the city’s first Fireworks Control Zone (FCZ), after serious anti-social behavior involving fireworks.

It would have been Scotland’s second designated control zone after the Scottish Government gave new powers to councils in 2022 following the Dundee riots.

A night of explosions at Pollokshields on Bonfire Night followed more than two weeks of escalating anti-social behavior involving fireworks.

Police said a car was set on fire on Herriot Street by fireworks exploding beneath it on Tuesday night.

At the meeting it was revealed that officers were removed from the area after they “were attacked” a short time later and fireworks were launched under a police vehicle.

Riot police were deployed to the area as part of Operation Moonbeam, but remained in a reserved position while police monitored the area via three CCTV cameras.

A bonfire made of fly-blown rubbish, fences and bins was lit at a mini roundabout and fireworks were set off until the early hours of the morning.

Residents at the meeting said they were angry that emergency services did not stop him, but were told they did not consider him “a risk to the general public”.

“The firefighters considered that if they were deployed they would become the target and would therefore need police protection, at which point the police would become the target,” the police representative said.

“Nobody wants fireworks going off, however, if we had deployed to try to quell that, there was a good chance that it would have ended in a large-scale riot with numerous people in the street, lasting several hours and potentially with national media attention in relation to the disorder and scenes we have seen in Edinburgh.

He added that the police strategy was an attempt to “prevent behavior intended to attract the police and attack them.”

“Rest assured, we are taking this very seriously and working as hard as we can to try to bring these criminals to justice.

“Harassment and rioting are very serious charges, so I hope they deter anyone next year.”

Residents who spoke at the meeting complained that there were no police patrols before the worst unrest began. They felt they had been targeted.

“It’s too dangerous for your agents to go to where we live, where we have to come home from work, where we lock ourselves in,” one said.

“His answer to us seems to be ‘suck it up,’ and I find that disappointing.”

One resident brought in pieces of metal shrapnel he had found in fireworks he considered illegal.

Another man said: “If you have riot shields and such, we would appreciate it.”

“We’re trying to get home from work, we’re trying to go out and have a normal life, and they shoot fireworks at us.”

Residents were told officers were working around the clock to review “hours and hours” of video footage.

A man and a minor were arrested that night and three other suspects have already been identified.

Police believe most of the culprits were adults, mostly from the area, and many of the fireworks were bought online and hidden in cars and flats.

Ameen Mohammed, chairman of Pollokshields Community Council, said a crackdown had been taken on cash shops where youths used to buy industrial-grade fireworks.

“I think in recent years, with social media, especially Instagram, people can get an UberEats-type delivery of fireworks to their home; that’s a difficult thing to deal with,” he said.

Three local councilors attended the meeting – Zen Gani, Norman MacLeod and Jon Molyneux – but the council was unable to provide an official to speak at the meeting at short notice.

Cllr Molyneux, who is campaigning for a citywide ban on fireworks to avoid stigmatizing some areas, said he hoped an FCZ next year would “make clear what a crime is and help people report riots.” .

He added: “Hopefully the police response will be a little more focused rather than spread out… if there are more isolated bits of disorder.”

Dr Ahmed said he would support a private bill from Luton North MP Sarah Owen, which called for restrictions on the sale of fireworks.

In a social media post, Dr Ahmed thanked the police for their “constructive updates” on the “crime and chaos at Bonfire Night“.

“We will work to ensure that this level of vandalism never returns to our streets,” he added.