Orangemen accused of attack on bingo ladies

Up to 300 Orangemen blocked the Garvaghy Road last night in a significant escalation of their protest against the re-routing of their annual parades.

According to Garvaghy Road Residents Association spokesman Brendan MacCionnaith, a car carrying four women home from bingo was kicked and damaged as it approached the Catholic area of Portadown.

The crowd reportedly emerged from the local Orange Hall, blocking the road close to pensioners' bungalows for 45 minutes.

They then marched into town and re-assembled at another flash point on the edge of the Garvaghy Road district. Many of the protestors were masked.