A community protest is expected to take place in Newtownards on Friday over concerns about ongoing gang intimidation in a housing estate.
It is reported that members of the local community are claiming they have been abandoned by the authorities by refusing to deal with a gang still operating in the Weavers Grange area of the town.
A PSNI spokesperson said: "Police are aware of a planned protest to be held in Newtownards on Friday and will be monitoring the situation."
This week, a High Court Judge ruled that five alleged “ringleaders” in a crowd of men who removed UDA murals as part of a loyalist feud are to remain in custody.
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The charges were connected to a gathering on April 6 at a house in the Weavers Grange area of the town.
Mr Justice Fowler refused their applications for bail on charges connected to a gathering at a house in the Weavers Grange area of Newtownards, Co Down.
Mr Justice Fowler described video footage of the event as “intimidating and menacing”.
All the defendants are from Newtownards and are facing counts of unlawful assembly and affray.
They are: Samuel Coulter (56) of Cambourne Mews; Jimmy Leung (35) from Glenbrook Road; David James Thompson (40) of Fir Drive; David Milligan (43) from Shackleton Walk; and Noel Thomas Morrison (48) of Stirling Avenue.
Around 60 men were said to have been present when South East Antrim UDA signs were removed from a property on the estate.
Prosecutors had claimed they crowd had arrived to confront residents over incidents linked to an ongoing feud between rival factions in north Down.
Defence lawyers have disputed whether there is any case to answer, with John Larkin KC describing Coulter as “a hard-working businessman who… acted in a public spirited manner.”
Denying bail due to the risk of reoffending, Justice Fowler added: “Given that this feud is still simmering there would be an almost irresistible temptation for these persons to become involved.”
