Northern Ireland

Sinn Féin MLA hits out at those responsible for painting bonfire in Tricolour colours

The bonfire in Limavady. Picture from Caoimhe Archibald/ Twitter
The bonfire in Limavady. Picture from Caoimhe Archibald/ Twitter The bonfire in Limavady. Picture from Caoimhe Archibald/ Twitter

A SINN Féin assembly member last night hit out at those responsible for painting a bonfire in the colours of the tricolour.

The contentious Eleventh Night pyre in Limavady, which is made out of pallets, has been painted green, white and orange in recent days.

Posting an image on social media of the bonfire, east Derry MLA Caoimhe Archibald wrote: "This is the bonfire in Limavady.

"This isn’t an expression of culture, it’s an expression of hate."

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the teenager who was injured at the site on a bonfire in Co Tyrone fell from the first tier of the pyre.

The boy, who is understood to be 16-years-old, was airlifted to hospital after falling from the bonfire in Cookstown on Thursday afternoon.

It happened in the Princess Avenue area at around 4pm.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said it sent one emergency crew to the scene after receiving a 999 call.

It is understood that the teenager was responsive when paramedics arrived.

A spokesperson for the NIAS said: "Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, the patient was flown to Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast."