Fresh trouble in Belfast

Fresh trouble broke out at a notorious sectarian divide in east Belfast tonight.

Police said one man was arrested for disorderly behaviour and assaulting officers after rival factions threw missiles at each other from the loyalist Cluan Place and nationalist Clandeboye Drive areas.

A spokesman said they received complaints that stones were being thrown from Cluan Place and a petrol bomb was later tossed from the Clandeboye Drive area.

He described the area as “quiet but tense“.

However Ulster Unionist councillor Michael Copeland painted a very different picture of what had happened.

He claimed loyalist residents were under sustained attack for at least two hours, culminating in four petrol bombs being thrown.

“When the police arrived they arrested a Protestant resident whose patience finally ran out. You can only stand your street being under attack for so long,” he said.

Mr Copeland claimed that five residents of Cluan Place had received injuries from police batons during the disturbances.

“Unless effective action is taken to close this window of opportunity that nationalists are exploiting which permits them to attack Cluan Place with bricks, bottles, petrol bombs and acid bombs, it will inevitably put people into conflict with the police,” he said.

Sinn Fein said they had received reports from residents that the trouble began when stones were thrown from the loyalist area.