Victim hurt when car slammed into pedestrians on Crumlin Road as riot squad officers battled to separate loyalists and republicans

A teenage Catholic girl was struck by a car in north Belfast as riot police came under attack nearby from Ulster loyalists on Monday night following the parades to commemorate the 325th anniversary of King William’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne.



The disorder around the most serious flashpoint of the Northern Ireland marching season also resulted in eight police officers being injured, while three baton rounds were fired and water cannon deployed to quell trouble on the Crumlin and Woodvale Roads.



It was a contrast to a mood of optimism earlier in the day when the initial parade passed off peacefully on its way to join the larger Belfast Orange demonstration. The Twelfth demonstrations happened on 13 July this year as the Orange Order does not stage its main event of the calendar on a Sunday.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nationalists join police officers to tip a car over in an attempt to free a young girl trapped underneath. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Speaking after the morning parade, Fr Gary Donegan, from the Holy Cross Catholic church on the Crumlin Road, said: “It was one of the most peaceful parades we have had. The community just want to it all to be over.”



The violence first erupted shortly after 7.30pm when up to 3,000 loyalists came up against a metal crowd barrier and lines of police officers on the Woodvale Road.



The Police Service of Northern Ireland was enforcing a ban on the Orange Order marching back up the Crumlin Road. The banning order was imposed by the Parades Commission, the body tasked with ruling on contentious marches in the region.



The return journey broke into violence when youths attempted to break through the police barrier and then started pelting police with bottles, bricks, stones and a pair of metal ladders. They also fired heavy bolts from catapults at police officers and members of the media gathered on the road.



Less than 40 minutes later there were angry scenes on the Crumlin Road close to the republican Ardoyne district after a car crashed into a group of Catholics.



Police and locals had to lift the maroon-coloured car on to its side to free a 16-year-old girl who was seriously injured in the incident. The driver was taken from the vehicle by police and arrested.



“Police immediately responded and administered first aid, and the driver of the vehicle has been arrested,” a police spokeswoman said.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Loyalist supporters confront police at Woodvale Road, after a loyalist parade was banned from marching past the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images

Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin added: “I would appeal for calm and ask that space be given to the medics attending the scene. An investigation into the circumstances is now under way.”



Gerry Kelly, a Sinn Féin minister in the power sharing executive at Stormont, later confirmed that the girl’s injuries were not life threatening.



He said people were “disappointed” the situation had deteriorated into violence and appealed for community leadership. “Political representatives across the board should be calling for calm.”



Large crowds of republicans and nationalists from Ardoyne gathered on the Crumlin Road while police officers tended to the injured girl, the fresh trouble broke out between loyalists and the police at Twaddell Avenue, a Protestant street facing the Catholic district.



A police inspector was hit in the head with a piece of masonry, sustaining a serious injury. Police fired three plastic baton rounds and deployed water cannon to drive back the loyalists from the Twaddell Avenue interface.



The Police Federation, representing rank and file officers in Northern Ireland, said one policeman had to have 12 stitches after being bitten by a rioter.



Mark Lindsay, the federation chairman, said: “Once again, officers demonstrated their patience and professionalism even though their lines were under attack. The scenes we witnessed were deplorable and shameful. The behaviour of those who viciously targeted police lines was mindless and unacceptable.”



The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland condemned the violence and called for “anyone engaged in illegal behaviour” in North Belfast to “stop immediately”.



The spokesman also condemned those responsible for stoning a bus transporting Orangemen as it passed through Greysteel, Co Derry, earlier in the evening. The bus, carrying lodge members from the Republic, was returning from a Twelfth demonstration in Coleraine. It is understood that no one was seriously injured in the incident.



The Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, said: “I condemn these disgraceful attacks on the police. Those responsible do nothing to further the cause they claim to promote. They damage Northern Ireland and wreck a day which should be about respectful celebration of cultural tradition … My thoughts are with all those injured.”



The shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Ivan Lewis, also hit out at those behind the trouble. He said: “The scenes in North Belfast tonight are a serious step backwards for stability in Northern Ireland. Police and security professionals, as well as members of the public, have endured unacceptable levels of violence and disorder.



“The small minority determined to return to the bad old days must not be allowed to prosper. Politicians and community leaders should reiterate their support for the rule of law and condemn the violence without fear or favour.”



Several hours later Donegan was back on the Crumlin Road giving support to family and friends of the girl injured in the incident involving the car. The priest later appealed for Ardoyne residents to leave the area where the girl was injured, telling them that it was a crime scene.











