Police and fire officers pelted in Belfast

Police and fire officers were pelted with stones and bottles as crowd of around 60 people went on the rampage in Belfast city centre early today.

A crowd of around 60 people set two cars and a shop front alight during disturbances near Bradbury Place at around 2am.

Calm was restored to the area by police officers within an hour.

Fire officer David Patten said his colleagues were faced with a "bad situation" which the police were able to bring under control.

"It was a bad situation to be in if we had been on our own but thankfully the police had the area under control quickly," he said.

"There is an awful mess around there now. The shopkeepers have a lot of work to do.

"They appeared to be trying to break into shops and smash windows and just cause mayhem down there."