The Kirkton estate in Dundee is recovering from the aftermath of a second year of rioting on Halloween.
Specialist police and firefighters were called in as youths ran amok on Tuesday night.
It followed similar scenes on Halloween in 2022.
The Courier’s reporter Lindsey Hamilton witnessed events unfolding first-hand on Tuesday.
This is her account of the night.
‘Kirkton youngsters appeared to be revelling in the total anarchy’
For the second year running, a small group of out-of-control teenagers have brought fear, destruction and chaos to a Dundee community.
Mob culture took over as the youths, mostly apparently aged between 12 and 17, ran rampage in Kirkton, bringing infamy and destruction to their own neighbourhood.
Having witnessed the build-up to the mayhem that took place on Tuesday night, I can’t help but feel the potential was there to stop what eventually happened long before it went as far as it did.
As bins, streets and property were set on fire, stones were thrown at journalists and police, vehicles were jumped on, windows were smashed and missiles were thrown, for a short while, around 60 youngsters appeared to be revelling in the total anarchy they were creating.
The authorities did appear to be prepared.
Initially, there was a decent uniformed police presence, mingling with the teenagers in the area as well as providing a reassuring presence for the many families I witnessed out in fancy dress guising, trying to have Halloween fun.
Added to that, three vanloads of police in full riot gear were on standby – and sadly were eventually deployed to disperse the mob, but only after the majority of the damage had been caused.
From fairly early in the evening, and as more and more teenagers gathered, it was pretty clear that trouble was in the air.
Many of those wore bright green hoodies with “RIP Grant” on the back, as well as an image of Grant Hutchison.
Sadly, the behaviour we have now witnessed for the past two years is branded as a memorial to the local dad-of-three who died in 2020.
Last year’s riot kicked off after a group had initially got together to set off fireworks as a tribute.
I would question how many of those wearing their tribute hoodies had met Grant or knew anything about him.
And given everyone in Dundee – let alone Kirkton – was aware of the potential for trouble, it’s hard to believe any parent seeing their child leaving the house wearing the hoodie and carrying a rucksack didn’t at least question where they were heading, and what they might get involved in during the evening ahead.
Parent says ‘kids can run off into the darkness and never face repercussions’
As we watched the trouble unfold, one local mum, standing in her garden, said to me: “Where are their parents? Do they know where their kids are tonight?
“Surely it’s up to us as the mums and dads of the community to be the first point to try to stop this trouble before it can even begin, by having more control at home.
“There are dozens of police here, including riot police, but the kids know they can’t really be touched – they know they can run off into the darkness and potentially never have to face any repercussions of what they are doing.”
Her words were echoed later by Dundee City Council leader John Alexander, who said: “It’s shameful. As a parent, you also have to ask the question, whose kids are these?
“If you know your child is part of this then sadly, you’re part of the problem.”
There’s a frightening element of truth in this, but the fear now is that these kids feel they have a “reputation” to uphold and that could lead to a repeat next year.
More on the Kirkton disorder:
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