Taxi depot shooting linked to loyalist feud

A gun attack on a taxi depot in north Belfast was today linked to an ongoing loyalist feud.

Staff at the office in Ballysillan narrowly escaped injury after gunmen fired several shots at the front of the building.

The Loyalist Volunteer Force was being blamed for the gun attack on Sunningdale Taxis.

Nigel Dodds, Democratic Unionist MP for the area, said lives would be lost unless the feud was halted.

“I’m worried now that guns are out as well as attacks on property, livelihoods and people’s jobs,” he aid.

“The local community don’t want it, we’ve had far too much of it and it should all stop as soon as possible before lives are lost.”

A spokeswoman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said patrols had been stepped in the area in the last week and officers were determined to bring the trouble to an end.

Paramilitaries have carried out several beatings and a number of taxis were burned out over the last few weeks as the feud escalated.

The latest attack took place on the corner of Ballysillan Park and Ballysillan Road when a number of staff were in the depot.

A car carrying a number of men pulled up outside the office a around 4.50am this morning and fired several rounds at the front of the building. No-one was injured.

The men were seen driving off after the shooting. A gold-coloured Proton car was found burning in the Brae Hill area of Old Park a short while later.

Witnesses are being urged to contact officers at Antrim Road police station or use the Crimestoppers number on 0800 555111.