A Fife football fan has become one of the first in Scotland to be prosecuted under new laws to regulate the use of fireworks.
The 16-year-old admitted having a lit smoke bomb at a Fife derby in Kirkcaldy in July this year.
In October last year it became an offence to possess any pyrotechnic in a public place without reasonable excuse.
The law came into effect last October, just weeks before the Kirkton riots rocked Dundee.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard the teenager – who cannot be named for legal reasons – had travelled with friends to watch the Raith Rovers vs Dunfermline Viaplay Cup group game on July 15.
As the Dunfermline supporters made their way to the match he grabbed the pyrotechnic from another fan.
When confronted by officers, he told them “everyone else was doing it”.
Fiscal depute Eve McKaig said: “At 3.15 pm two police officers, DCs Campbell and Lister spoke to the accused about matters not currently before the court.
“At 4.45pm on the same day, Dunfermline football club fans left O’Connell’s bar as a group to make their way to Starks park.
“Due to previous volatility, a police escort was required.
“As the group approached the junction with Links Street, Kirkcaldy, several Dunfermline fans produced smoke bombs and lit them, covering the area in red and black smoke.
“DCs Campbell and Lister then both observed the accused approach a member of the group and take a lit red flare from his grasp and begin to wave it back and forth along the street.
“DC Campbell shouted at the accused to desist and the accused elected to run away into the group of fans.
“He was later observed entering the match.”
The teenager was arrested following the end of the game.
‘Daft and impetuous’
Solicitor David Cranston, defending, said “It’s not a very imaginative plea in mitigation to say he’s a 16-year-old boy who is been daft and impetuous.
“He’s come through to the local derby match and was walking towards the ground.
“It wasn’t his smoke bomb.
“He wouldn’t even know where to get one, he tells me, but he accepts he took it and waved it.”
He said the boy’s parents were “mortified” by his actions and he had faced repercussions at home.
No banning order
The teenager, from the Dunfermline area, admitted possessing a red smoke bomb on Kirkcaldy’s Links Street.
Pleas of not guilty to publicly consuming alcohol and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner were accepted by the Crown.
Sheriff David Mackie told the youngster: “It’s a pity you’ve got yourself into this position because you now have a criminal conviction and record.”
He stopped short of issuing a football banning order, and deferred sentence for four months for the accused to be of good behaviour.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Dunfermline winning the resultant penalty shoot-out.
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