Baby’s clothes are set alight after yobs launched a FIREWORK into its buggy from a passing car

Baby’s clothes are set alight after yobs launched a FIREWORK into its buggy from a passing car

  • Baby’s clothes were burnt but the infant was not injured during drive-by attack
  • The shocking incident happened in  Dunstable, Bedfordshire on November 6
  • Police have launched a manhunt for the yobs who fled  in a small hatchback car

A baby’s clothes were set on fire after yobs launched a firework into its buggy from a passing car. 

The shocking incident took place in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, at around 9am last Friday.

Although the baby’s clothes were burnt, the infant escaped unharmed.

Bedfordshire Police are now hunting the yobs who were travelling in a small hatchback.  

The incident took place at the junction of High Street South and Periwinkle Lane in Dunstable, Bedfordshire

PC Sam Allen said: ‘We do not believe the child was targeted in this incident and although the firework burnt their clothing fortunately they were not injured. 

‘However, it was a very distressing incident and could have resulted in serious harm. 

‘We are very keen to speak to anyone who has information or was in the area at the time and has dashcam footage that could assist our enquiries.’

Anyone with information is urged to call 101.

It comes as Police Federation chair John Apter called for an urgent review into the sale of fireworks amid a spate of attacks across the UK.

Earlier this month, a gang of youths fired explosives at theRSPCA Harmsworth Animal Hospital in Finsbury Park, North London, leaving staff trapped inside the building. 

Dramatic footage taken by one staff member shows the street alight with fireworks as she said: ‘It’s like something out of a war zone.’ 

A gang of youths threw fireworks at the RSPCA Harmsworth Animal Hospital in Finsbury Park, North London on November 5

A gang of youths threw fireworks at the RSPCA Harmsworth Animal Hospital in Finsbury Park, North London on November 5

Many of the animals had to be moved elsewhere in the building due to the distress they were in and amid fears they could be hit by one of the fireworks. 

A number of similar incidents took place on Bonfire Night  as yobs  were filmed firing rockets towards an police car in Brierfield, Lancashire  while a group of youths were seen firing explosives on a residential street in Shawlands, Scotland. 

Fireworks were even let off near combustible cladding outside a block of flats in Manchester, leaving residents ‘on a knife edge’.    

Thugs were filmed launching fireworks at a police van in Brierfield, Lancs on November 5

Thugs were filmed launching fireworks at a police van in Brierfield, Lancs on November 5

In Liverpool, footage captures crowds cheering as the pyrotechnics burst loudly in the sky, but things quickly turn sour when some of the fireworks went off too close to the ground and sparks were thrown over cars and people standing on the grass.

A witness later said it was ‘a miracle no one was hurt’ during the incident.  

Steve Raper, chairman of the British Fireworks Association (BFA) which represents retailers, said there has been ‘a massive spike in sales’ as part of a shift to ‘back-garden displays’.

He also sounded a health and safety warning to people turning to online retailers to get fireworks, which might even be illegal under the UK’s tight explosives regulations.

 He said: ‘Many of the fireworks being used in those situations will be illegal, brought on the internet.

‘Because of Covid and lockdown, a lot of people have moved from buying fireworks over the counter at a trusted retailer to getting them online.’