The public prosecution department said on Thursday it estimated around 30 of the 100 youngsters arrested after riots in the Brabant village of Veen were not guilty of any crime.

‘It is a shame but unavoidable in such circumstances,’ a spokesman told RTL news. In total, 100 people were picked up after the emergency services were pelted with bottles and fireworks when they were called out to deal with a car fire.

On Wednesday, nine of them were released from custody and a further 83 were allowed home on Thursday. The nine who remain in detention will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday, RTL said.

Lawyer Karsten Verkaart says he intends to claim damages on behalf of four young teenagers who were arrested on Monday. The four, who were released on New Year’s Day, were in the wrong place at the wrong time but were not involved in any violence, Verkaart said. He accuses the police of over-reacting.

Veen, which traces its history back to the 12th century, is a trouble hotspot during the New Year celebrations and setting car wrecks on fire has become somewhat of a tradition.