There have been calls for a UVF flag erected outside a Catholic church in Co Down to be removed "immediately".
The appearance of the flag outside St Mary's Star of the Sea in Kircubbin at the weekend has been branded "a pathetic attempt at coercive control or intimidation of a community".
Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong said: "We will not be dragged back. People should be free to worship without fear or intimidation".
And she added: "I am calling on those behind the flag to remove it immediately. But failing that I’m calling on the PSNI to act, to see these flags removed".
Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt also called for the flag's removal, adding that its appearance was a "pathetic attempt at coercive control or intimidation of a community who do not want them.
"Take it down, disband and let people get on with their lives," he said.
It is not the first time there have been sectarian tensions in the area.
In 2007, there was a bomb attack on the Catholic church in Kircubbin.
During the incident, a home-made device exploded on the windowsill of the building.
Ballycran GAC in Kircubbin has also suffered damage to its club premises as a result of fire bomb attacks in the past.
