Firefighters tackle blaze at historic Belfast courthouse

Firefighters were today tackling a blaze at a 150-year-old court that became a feature of the Troubles.

Ten fire units were at the Crumlin Road Courthouse which has been disused since 1998, but which developers hoped to transform into a luxury hotel.

Approach roads to the site were closed as flames rose from the historic building.

The courthouse, which opened in 1850, is reputed to be where the phrase “send him down” was coined, as an underground tunnel links it to the sprawling Crumlin Road jail nearby.

More than 10,000 republican and loyalist paramilitaries are thought to have passed through the building's courtrooms during the decades of violence.