Northern Ireland

Video: Young man engulfed in flames during violence in Newtownabbey

A young man caught fire after petrol bombs were thrown in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, on Saturday night
A young man caught fire after petrol bombs were thrown in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, on Saturday night A young man caught fire after petrol bombs were thrown in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, on Saturday night

A young man was engulfed in flames after a petrol bomb was thrown during violence in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey.

Videos shared on social media show the man, dressed in a red tracksuit, run towards police lines as a petrol bomb was thrown at PSNI Land Rovers on Saturday night.

As the device, thrown from behind him, ignited on the ground, the man slipped in petrol and was engulfed in flames.

He stumbled to the side of the road where he and two others attempted to extinguish his burning clothes.

The flames were put out within a few seconds.

Police said the man then ran off.

It was not known last night how serious his injuries were.

A PSNI spokesman said yesterday: "During disorder last night in Newtownabbey in which police came under attack from a crowd, a male who was in the area was struck by a petrol bomb which had been thrown at a police Land Rover.

"This person, on being struck by the petrol bomb, made off from the area."

According to reports from the scene, when police arrived in Rathcoole on Saturday night, one of the crowd had shouted: "It's party time".