Northern Ireland

Children as young as 10 involved in attacks on cars and buses on Shankill Road

Two Metro buses were withdrawn from the Shankill Road area of west Belfast on Sunday night following attacks by youths. Picture by Pacemaker
Two Metro buses were withdrawn from the Shankill Road area of west Belfast on Sunday night following attacks by youths. Picture by Pacemaker Two Metro buses were withdrawn from the Shankill Road area of west Belfast on Sunday night following attacks by youths. Picture by Pacemaker

CHILDREN as young as 10 were involved in attacks on cars and buses in the Shankill Road area of west Belfast on Sunday night.

Youths threw bricks and other missiles at passing cars and two Metro buses at the North Boundary Street junction with the Shankill Road at 6.30pm.

Metro buses were withdrawn from the area as a precaution.

The attack comes after a bus was hijacked and set alight at the junction of Lanark Way and the Shankill during rioting early last month amid loyalist protests over the Northern Ireland Protocol and the policing of veteran republican Bobby Storey's funeral in June last year.

Translink drivers in Belfast staged a protest following the attack.

A police spokesman said: "It's concerning that young children, some of whom were believed to be around 10 years old, were involved in this incident.

"I'm appealing to those responsible to think of the potential consequences of such actions.

"It's not just the follow-on disruption; you are risking the safety, even lives, of those on-board.

"We will continue to work alongside local representatives and partner agencies, but it is disappointing that some people continue to disregard our repeated warnings.

"Parents and guardians, I am appealing to you to do everything you can to prevent young people from becoming involved or caught up in these activities. Know where your children are, who they are with and what they are doing."

Police have asked anyone with information to contact them on 101.

On Saturday, several Metro services bypassed the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey due to a loyalist band parade.