Car burned out in bonfire night yob attack which saw Sunderland firefighters pelted with bricks and bottles

A burnt out car on the back of a recovery truck following the blazes started in Cato Street, Southwick. Photo by BBC Newcastle.

The crew from Marley Park Community Fire Station were attacked early yesterday evening after they were called to the Southwick area of the city to deal with a bonfire.Shortly after 5.40pm, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service tweeted to say the police had been called after the officers were being attached with bottles and bricks.

Today, the embers of bonfires set on the grassed area of Cato Street continued to burn, with a car also wrecked by fire and taken away by a salvage truck.

Update: Car driven onto bonfire and fire engine barricaded in Sunderland street as firefighters come under attack from yobs as young as 10

The remains of mattresses and tyres can be seen amongst the remains of firework wrappers and tubes.

Just days earlier, the team's station had hosted the launch of Operation Extinguish, a crackdown on antisocial behaviour involving pyrotechnics as November 5 approached.

The week-long effort is based in Southwick and brings together the service alongside Northumbria Police, Sunderland City Council and housing provider Gentoo.

It comes after firefighters were called to 349 deliberate fires in the Southwick and Redhill communities. making it the highest in the Tyne and Wear area.

During the course of yesterday, the service's control room took 568 emergency calls.