A group of police officers are preparing to launch a legal action after sustaining hearing damage during Bonfire Night.

Around 20 officers have taken legal advice from a personal injury solicitor and are working with the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) after Police Scotland failed to provide adequate ear protection.

During Bonfire Night, eight officers were injured after they were attacked with fireworks and petrol bombs last November in Niddrie, a neighbourhood in the south east of Edinburgh. A further 34 officers have reported hearing problems.

Gordon Forsyth, health and safety assistant to the general secretary for SPF, told 1919 Magazine: “The cops were exposed to two to three hours of constant barrage of fireworks. They’re still experiencing problems.

“Some of them may recover, but it’s likely for a few of them it will be a permanent problem, particularly the tinnitus”

“There are some who have come back to light duties – they’re probably the worst affected. For a few of them, it’s quite significant.”

It is understood that Police Scotland bought around 10,000 sets of sound suppressors, equipment which allows officers to hear speech and radio messages but which protects against noise-induced hearing loss. These were not tested by Bonfire Night so were not issued to officers for Operation Moonbeam, the police response taken each year since 2018 to prevent public disorder.

Police Scotland has stated that hearing loss issues were reported by officers but that no formal legal proceedings have been taken.

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs, gold commander for Operation Moonbeam, said: “These had not been public order tested in time for use during the operation, but have since been provided to officers deployed for policing the Hogmanay street party, sporting events and other major operations. A full rollout of new noise defenders is currently underway for all police officers.”

New legislation granting councils the powers to ban fireworks in problem areas was also announced last summer. These laws would allow Firework Control Zones (FCZs) to be implemented, but Glasgow City Council is the only local authority to have started a community consultation to begin this process.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Firework control zones are part of a suite of measures to tackle firework issues and full details are now available to view on our website.

“FCZs will be enforced by Police Scotland and the council will oversee the process of designating zones in Glasgow in partnership with police and Scottish Fire and Rescue.”

Council leaders in Edinburgh and Dundee have expressed interest in commencing plans to create FCZs following chaotic disruptions in each city over the last two years, though no official announcements have been made.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are aware of a number of local authorities who are considering this. The Scottish Government has provided local authorities with the powers to designate firework control zones within their boundaries, and we continue to provide funding for local authorities who are considering this.”