FOUR Belfast bonfire sites on council-owned land should now be cleared of all material, Sinn Féin said last night.
The party claimed that contractors had already been hired and should be given police protection to carry out the work.
It emerged yesterday that Belfast City Council has been granted an injunction aimed at stopping further material being added to the four contentious sites in east Belfast.
The surprise move follows concerns about the scale of pyres in some areas and criticism of the council for storing pallets for loyalists at ratepayers' expense.
Bonfires builders and people dumping material will not be permitted on to land at Ravenscroft Avenue car park/Bloomfield walkway, Avoniel Leisure Centre car park, Inverary playing fields and Cregagh Park East.
While the injunction is dated Thursday July 6, it was only made public late on Friday evening.
A council spokesperson said only that "this move was prompted by concerns for public safety."
It is understood the injunction is intended to stop the pyres increasing in size before they are set alight on the Eleventh night, but material already on site will not be removed.
Sinn Féin councillor Jim McVeigh welcomed the legal action as a possible solution to the problem, but said it doesn't go far enough.
"I've been saying for some time now that the council should seek injunctions for fires on their land and I'm glad that they finally have," he said.
"However, if they are saying that this will only be partially enforced by stopping further material being added to the fires then it doesn't go far enough.
"Some of these fires are already far too big and cause a significant risk to nearby property.
"The council has employed a contractor to remove material from sites and those workers should now be given police protection to do their job.
"If the police do not give protection to city council contractors then they will be in dereliction of their duty."
The four sites are all in east Belfast and the injunction states that anyone attempting to enter the areas "for the purposes of directing, building, organising and/or constructing bonfires and/or providing materials for use on a bonfire" is prohibited from doing so.
Breaching the order carries the potential for being found in contempt of court and being sent to jail or having assets seized.
SDLP, Ballymena councillor Declan O'Loan said legal intervention in the case of illegal bonfires was a"positive development" that could be considered by other councils.
"This is the first time that the law has intervened in relation to bonfires and that is positive", he said.
"For the law to be exercised in this way is a desirable thing and this should now be proper enforcement around this injunction", he added.
Unionist councillors did not respond to requests for a comment last night, but high-profile flag protester and loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson said questions needs to asked as to why "the council are only targeting specific bonfires whilst funding others".
"This is beyond outrageous. It is inflammatory, it is dangerous and it is a gross breach of faith. I would call on all loyalists to seriously consider relationships with statutory agencies," he said.
"I have argued for years that the councils would eventually go to court in their attempts to eradicate bonfires, and so it has come to pass."
He said bonfire groups responsible for the four sites named in the injunction would be considering their response over the next few days.
Superintendent Robert Murdie said; "We have now written to the Council with regard to the details of the injunction - and so it would be inappropriate to comment further ahead of their response".
