Northern Ireland

Homes close to contentious east Belfast bonfire are boarded up ahead of pyre being lit

Windows and doors are covered to protect them from the intensity of the nearby blaze. Picture by Hugh Russell
Windows and doors are covered to protect them from the intensity of the nearby blaze. Picture by Hugh Russell Windows and doors are covered to protect them from the intensity of the nearby blaze. Picture by Hugh Russell

HOMES are being boarded up close to a contentious loyalist bonfire in east Belfast which will be lit tonight.

Contractors have placed boards over windows in several homes close to the pyre in Ravenscroft Avenue car parkl/Bloomfield Walkway.

It is one of four bonfires subject to a Belfast City Council injunction granted last Thursday which was aimed at preventing further material being added to the pyres.

Last year a number of homes at Hopewell Square in the Shankill area of the city were damaged when embers from a nearby Eleventh Night bonfire set the terraced properties alight.

Families had to be rescued and the Housing Executive repair bill was £90,000.

The homes are close to the bonfire at Ravenscroft Avenue/Bloomfield Walkway in east Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
The homes are close to the bonfire at Ravenscroft Avenue/Bloomfield Walkway in east Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell The homes are close to the bonfire at Ravenscroft Avenue/Bloomfield Walkway in east Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell

Last year the Irish News revealed that clearing up Twelfth bonfires has cost the taxpayer more than £500,000 over four years with councils, roads chiefs and the Housing Executive having to repair damage caused by the pyres.

 The bonfire is one of the four subject to a Belfast City Council injunction. Picture by Hugh Russell
 The bonfire is one of the four subject to a Belfast City Council injunction. Picture by Hugh Russell  The bonfire is one of the four subject to a Belfast City Council injunction. Picture by Hugh Russell