Parents warned after new disorder

Parents have been urged to remember their responsibilities after serious disorder involving teenagers in Northern Ireland
12 April 2012

A senior police officer has reminded parents of their responsibility to make sure their children do not get involved in rioting after more disorder in Northern Ireland.

The 100-strong crowd of loyalists that attacked police in Portadown was predominantly made up of teenagers, police said.

Three men were arrested during the disturbances in the Corcraine area of the Co Armagh town which was sparked after loyalist flags were allegedly removed at an interface with a nationalist area. Officers fired 19 baton rounds at the rioters during the violence.

The disorder came at the end of a week which saw violence erupt across Northern Ireland during the height of the Orange Order marching season.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Superintendent Jason Murphy said a peaceful loyalist protest had been hijacked by those intent on trouble.

He said officers had been attacked with petrol bombs, stones, bricks, fireworks and other missiles. The commander said a number of Land Rovers sustained substantial damage during the disorder but no officers were injured.

"The loyalist violence in Corcraine did nothing for the good name of Portadown," he said, before warning teenagers not to get involved. "It is important to remember here the implications that this not only has on the community but to those young people involved in the disorder.

The officer commended community representatives who had worked to restore order, saying: "Despite the violence against my officers, I can assure the public of Portadown that we remain steadfast in our determination to work with all communities to make Portadown safe," he added.

"The law-abiding people of Portadown want to see peace, harmony and most of all prosperity and we stand ready as a police service to play our part."

Two men, aged 24 and 42, were charged with riotous behaviour and criminal damage in the wake of the trouble. The 42-year-old was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in