Fire engine attack CCTV

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Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has released CCTV footage which shows the moment a brick was launched at a fire engine in Rochdale.

The appliance, from Heywood Fire Station, had to be taken off the run on one of the busiest nights of the year, after the windscreen was smashed.

At 5.08pm on Sunday, November 4, firefighters were called to a fire on Deeplish Road, Deeplish, Rochdale, where they found two wheelie bins on fire.

The bins had been set alight by youths.

The crew put the fire out using a hose reel and went to leave the scene.

As they were leaving, they saw a group of youths ahead of them and rather than drive towards the youths, the crew decided to reverse away and turn around to leave Deeplish Road.

But as they reversed down the road, the youths began to throw bricks at the fire engine, one of which smashed the windscreen.

None of the firefighters was injured but they were extremely shaken by the incident.

The fire engine was been taken off the run and will remain off the run until it has been repaired.

Fire Control Operator Joanne Kirkham spoke to the crew just after the incident. She said: “There were no physical injuries but obviously they were in the engine at the time and were extremely shaken.

“They had dealt with the incident, saw the group of youths as they were leaving and, rather than drive towards them, they went to back out.

“That’s when the bricks were thrown.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Peter O’Reilly said: “This is the busiest time of year for our crews and the community expects us to be on call for bonfire and all other incidents – because of these irresponsible actions, this has now had an impact on our resources.

“Thankfully, on this occasion we were able to call on other resources to provide cover.

“It is really important that the community does everything it can to make sure the respect we know they have for us is maintained by everyone at this time.

“We are getting such great support from the people of Greater Manchester. It’s just a small minority who don’t show us that support and we are working with our communities and the police to ensure this doesn’t continue.”

Anyone who recognises the youths in the CCTV or has any information ion the incident, is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.