A Friday night treat turned to terror when youths threw lit fireworks at two young children.
Five-year-old Sapphire Barron and her sister Nicole Finlayson, 11, were almost hit by a large banger when they were out walking with their aunt, Nicola Couper, on Friday night.
The teenagers then followed them as they ran screaming back to Nicola’s home, and then threw another firework at the house.
The events unfolded in Hill of Beath as Nicola, 30, took the children and her Staffordshire bull terrier, Jess, to the local shop for some treats.
“It was terrifying,” said Nicola, who lives in Allan Park with her partner Aston Gilfillan.
“We’d just got to the top of the road and the girls were a wee bit in front of me.
“I saw white trainers and a flame and I thought someone was going to set the woodland on fire, but then they threw it.
“It was just at the bairns and it went right up with a colourful bang.
“If the bairns had been any further forward it would have hit them.
“It could have been really, really bad. I was raging.”
Nicola said her first thought was to get her nieces inside to safety.
“When I got in they launched another one at my house,” she said.
The youths then fled the scene as Nicola tried to calm the terrified and weeping children.
“I didn’t sleep at all on Friday night because the bairns were sleeping in the sitting room and I was scared to fall asleep in case anything happened,” she said.
“It’s such a shame because Sapphire has always been a bit scared of fireworks, but she was just starting to come round to them when this happened.
“It’s set her right back.”
Nicola phoned the police on Friday to report the incident, which happened between 7 and 8pm, but it took officers until Tuesday to visit her and take the full facts.
“They said they had had lots of calls,” she said.
“They’re never going to catch them now. It’s too late.”
Police have put out an appeal for witnesses.
The suspects are described as about 16 or 17 years old, white, of average height and medium build.
One was wearing a jumper and grey jogging bottoms with elasticated ankles and the other was wearing stonewashed jeans.
Sergeant Caine McIntyre said: “This is a dangerous and reckless act which could have caused serious injury to the parties involved.”