Twelfth of July parades the most peaceful in many years

This year's annual Twelfth of July celebrations in the North have been the most peaceful in many years, with no major trouble reported at any Orange parades.

There were some minor stone-throwing incidents in south and east Belfast, but the most contentious of the marches in the Ardoyne area passed off peacefully.

Loyalist supporters were bussed past Ardoyne under a Parades Commission ruling, while Orangemen and their bands marched through the area without playing any music.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has confirmed that his party held talks with the PSNI about the policing of the parade in an effort to ensure calm, despite the ongoing refusal by republicans to endorse the police force.

The Orange Order, meanwhile, described yesterday as a truly glorious Twelfth, saying more than 1,300 Orange Lodges had parades in 18 different locations, watched by hundreds of thousands of people.