Extra police deployed in Dundee after 'reckless' rioting

Extra police officers will be deployed on the streets of Dundee 24 hours after "reckless and deplorable" rioting, a police chief has said.

Riot officers were called in on Monday night as gangs of youths blocked roads with bonfires and hurled fireworks.

Drivers were forced to turn back from the fires and a Police Scotland helicopter circled above the area.

Chief Supt Phil Davison said no arrests had been made so far and there were no serious injuries.

But he insisted officers were following several positive lines of inquiry and confirmed more officers would be drafted in to reassure the public.

He said: "I can assure our local residents that there will be an enhanced police presence in the coming days.

"I fully appreciate and understand the distress caused to local residents.

"Nobody should be in their house and seeing the sort of behaviour that we did last night."

The Halloween disorder was also condemned by Justice Minister Keith Brown in response to an urgent question at Holyrood.

The disorder began on Beauly Square in the Kirkton area at about 17:30 on Monday and continued for several hours.

Fireworks were thrown at the emergency services and one police officer suffered a minor injury.

There were reports of vehicles being hit with bricks and people jumping on car roofs.

Ch Supt Davison said he believed the majority of the youths involved were aged from 12 to late teens.

He described the initial outbreak of trouble as "spontaneous" but said groups became more organised as rioting spread.

"The behaviour we saw was absolutely deplorable," he said. "It was reckless... and placed emergency services and communities at risk."

Videos on social media showed fires being lit on the adjacent Balgowan Avenue and police with riot shields attempting to contain the disorder as fireworks exploded next to them.

Windows were also smashed at nearby St Paul's secondary school.

Local supermarket Asda has since removed fireworks from sale "due to recent disruption in our local area". Tesco also said it had temporarily suspended firework sales at its Dundee stores.

The Nine Maidens pub in Dundee announced on social media its firework display had been cancelled following the riots.

Earlier the leader of Dundee City Council, John Alexander, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the images of the disorder were "absolutely disgusting".

He added: "I've never seen anything in 34 years of having lived in that area or, you know, covered that area in my role as councillor, anything like that.

"For all of those parents and children who last night should have been a highlight for, it's now been a horrendous night for them.

"And their experience, of course, is not something that anybody should have to go through."

At Holyrood, Justice Secretary Keith Brown was asked what the Scottish government's response to the disorder would be.

Mr Brown said the behaviour was "appalling and wholly unacceptable" while the impact on the local community and emergency services had been "extremely distressing".

He added: "I know that Police Scotland, the SFRS and local authorities have been making great efforts to prevent and respond effectively to any disorder in the run up to bonfire night, including through the police's Operation Moonbeam.

"We will be engaging further with these bodies and others to learn lessons and provide what further support we can."

Giving assurances about future incidents, Mr Brown said the force had been very grateful for the extra deployment of officers from other areas - adding this would be factored into policing over the weekend.