A 21-year-old man has been charged with assaulting a police officer after fireworks were aimed at officers, passers-by and buildings during Bonfire Night disorder in Aston, Birmingham.

Ibraheem Iqbal, 21, is due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court in December 2026. The charge is an allegation to be tested in court, not a finding of guilt.

The disorder broke out on Thursday 5 November on Staniforth Street, near Aston University, where fireworks were aimed at an occupied street. People ran for cover as the projectiles were directed at those walking nearby, at buildings and at police officers. Footage described by BBC Birmingham showed people trying to escape the fireworks near the university.

West Midlands Police sent about 60 public order officers wearing riot helmets to the scene, later joined by about 25 response officers. Officers carried out stop-and-searches and dispersed dozens of people from the area, including nearby Bagot Street, warning that anyone who returned could face arrest.

During the first response, two teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of public order offences and failing to disperse, and a third teenager was detained on suspicion of possessing fireworks. Those remain accounts of arrests on suspicion, not confirmed charges, and no equivalent charging outcome has been established for the three teenagers.

Officers returned to Bagot Street in the early hours of Friday 6 November after further reports of firework-related disorder. During that later response, two men aged 21 and 22 were arrested on suspicion of assaulting police officers. The two cases have since taken different paths: Iqbal has been charged, while the 22-year-old received a community resolution in connection with the same offence. A community resolution is an out-of-court outcome, not a charge or a conviction.

Alongside the individual cases, police have renewed exceptional overnight search powers in a designated part of Birmingham. The latest authorisation ran from 4pm on Saturday 7 November until 7am on Sunday 8 November, following earlier windows in the early hours of 6 November and overnight from 6 November into 7 November.

The powers, under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, allow officers to search people without reasonable grounds to suspect them individually. The operation also includes a Section 60AA authorisation, which allows officers to require the removal of face coverings. The authorisations apply within a designated area only, not across the whole city, and they are separate from the power to disperse people.

Birmingham Police Commander Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce called the behaviour “irresponsible and dangerous” and warned that misusing fireworks is against the law. He said: “If you are misusing fireworks, you can expect to be dealt with and prosecuted, and if you’re gathering to watch this kind of behaviour, you’re putting yourself at risk of injury.”

Chief Superintendent Joyce added that public safety was the force’s priority and promised more officers on high-visibility patrols through the weekend, ready to respond quickly in key locations.

Police are urging anyone with concerns or information about firework-related crime to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Iqbal’s December court appearance has no verified day yet, and the outcomes for the three teenagers arrested on 5 November remain unestablished.