Protestant families flee homes after alleged republican intimidation

Ten Protestant families have fled their homes in north Belfast as a result of years of alleged republican intimidation.

A 91-year-old grandmother was among those to evacuate their houses on the Torrens estate.

Another 13 Protestant families also left the area a number of months ago.

Local Democratic Unionist Party MP Nigel Dodds said: “This isolated Protestant community has been systematically targeted by republicans over many years. The people living there simply can’t take any more.”

Sinn Féin councillor Eoin O’Broin rejected the allegation, saying there was no campaign against the people of the Torrens estate.

Wheelchair-bound Betsy McClenaghan, 91, described the situation as worse than she experienced during two world wars.

She said: “It’s terrible, I have come through the blitzes and the 1932 riots but nothing was as bad as this. I’m totally disgusted, I’ve been living in Torrens since 1942 and I’ve never known an upheaval like it.”