Man trapped inside leisure centre tells of fear as rioters attacked

A man who was inside a leisure centre in County Antrim as it was attacked on Wednesday night has spoken of the fear felt by customers and staff.

Northern Ireland Assembly Member Danny Donnelly said Larne Leisure Centre was being used by families and children for swimming and classes when it was targeted by youths and set on fire.

The centre had been providing emergency shelter for families fleeing violence in nearby Ballymena.

It was the third night of disorder in Northern Ireland this week, but on Wednesday night the unrest spread to other towns like Larne.

Donnelly said a brick was thrown through a window of the leisure centre in Larne where a yoga class was being held and members had to flee for safety.

"Thankfully, nobody was hurt but as you can imagine there was glass everywhere and the women had to get up and leave," he said.

Donnelly said it quickly became violent and the windows of the leisure centre were "systematically being put in".

He added that paint was thrown over fire doors and described it as a "sustained attack" on the building.

"They were already throwing bricks at the police as well," he said.

He said staff had to flee through the back door for their own safety.

Donnelly told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that people and children became "fearful" and staff helped customers "to leave via the side doors and get to their cars safely".

"It became more and more sinister, and it became more and more obvious that there was a malicious intent. You don't come to a peaceful protest with a mask and bricks."

Olympic swimmer Danielle Hill, who trained at the leisure centre, described the attack as not just violence, but that "it was racism in its rawest and most dangerous form".

In a Facebook post, she said Wednesday night's events "are already being felt".

"No child should ever have had to witness the sight of individuals in Balaclavas.

"A local community torn apart. Families left frightened. Workers, left without incomes. The harm is not abstract - it is here, it is local, and it is devastating," she said.

by Julian O'Neill, BBC News NI crime and justice correspondent

The disorder comes at a time of crisis for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Its chief constable, Jon Boutcher, has issued repeated warnings about it being "critically underfunded", leaving it with the lowest number of officers in its history.

It currently has 6,200 officers – compared to more than 9,000 when it was established in 2001, and various official reports have recommended it should have at least 7,500 officers.

There have been many political commitments to achieving this, but it has not been acted upon given the constant pressures on public spending.

To make matters worse, around 1,500 officers are either on sickness absence or restricted duties away from frontline policing.

You can read more analysis here.

DUP councillor Andrew Clark said he first saw "dramatic" footage of the disorder on social media.

"It seemed that youths had broken in and the foyer of it was quite heavily on fire, quite a lot of smoke," he told BBC News NI.

"After a period of time the police arrived, security arrived and then fire engines arrived and were able to bring it under control fairly quickly and then remained on the scene."

Clark estimated that there were fewer than a dozen hooded youths involved in the arson and several hundred people observing.

"The mood was one of shock of the stupidity, burning your own leisure centre down, anger at the wickedness of it, attacking a building used by everyone," he said.

"I would say also there's some people dismayed because there's very legitimate conversations to be had around the issues of housing and immigration and that's totally been taken off the agenda through this wickedness."

"It is very concerning, the message is very clear, it has to stop, you are doing no good whatsoever," he added.

The PSNI said more officers were injured and six further arrests were made during the third consecutive night of disorder.

Ballymena

Officers were attacked with petrol bombs, heavy masonry, bricks, fireworks and a hatchet.

Nine officers were injured but remained on duty.

Two men aged in their 20s and one in their 30s, along with two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour and other offences.

A number of baton rounds were discharged and water cannon was deployed.

One man, aged 18, and two teenage boys, aged 15 and 17, have been charged with riot after Tuesday's disorder. The 15-year-old has also been charged with criminal damage.

They are expected to appear before Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Two other teenage boys who were arrested during the disorder have been released on bail.

Newtownabbey

A teenager was arrested in connection with disorder in the Station Road area.

Coleraine

A bus was attacked and was prevented from entering the station.

Bins were set alight on the train tracks at the station and petrol bombs were thrown at officers, resulting in train and bus services being cancelled.

The police are investigating a fire at nearby business premises and a subsequent report that a number of young people broke into a tyre business and added tyres to fire.

Carrickfergus, Antrim, Lisburn and Belfast

Masked protesters blocked roads on the Marine Highway area in Carrickfergus.

Protests passed without incident in the Antrim and Lisburn areas.

A number of protests also took place across Belfast, and police described them as "mainly peaceful".

Donnelly was among a number of elected representatives criticising a Stormont minister over a social media post about the location of migrant families who left their homes hours before the centre was attacked.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said that people caught up in clashes in Ballymena were being temporarily moved to Larne Leisure Centre.

Sinn Féin Finance Minister John O'Dowd claimed Lyons "failed to show leadership".

Donnelly said: "I thought it was incredibly reckless and dangerous to highlight the location of where these people were being kept and brought to a place of safety."

"If I was the minister, I would certainly be considering my position," he added.

Lyons has defended his comments saying the information was in the public domain, and had been confirmed by the local council.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Lyons has been "fundamentally misrepresented" and said it is "a disgrace and a distraction at a time whenever what we need is collective political leadership".

Meanwhile in County Armagh, a housing association has warned its residents to leave their homes and take measures to protect their properties ahead of a planned protest.