Police vehicles and cars belonging to members of the public were damaged following disorder in the Broadway Roundabout area of south Belfast on Monday night, July 15.

A number of police cars as well as cars belonging to members of the public were damaged during the disorder at the Broadway Roundabout on Monday night.

No injuries have been reported to police officers.

South Belfast DUP MLA Edwin Poots said tensions in the area have been high for months between young people coming from the west Belfast side of the junction and those from the south Belfast side “hand-to-hand fighting” and throwing missiles close to a busy road.

He has called for intervention from Belfast City Council and other organisations to create diversionary schemes.

Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson said “nationalist youths appear to have come over and initiated an attack on the Village area,” which “precipitated” the disorder.

“The PSNI must put resources into policing these marauding gangs of nationalist youths attacking homes in the Village area,” he said.

The PSNI’s District Commander for Belfast, Chief Superintendent Jeremy Lindsay, urged those involved to “seriously consider the impact of their actions”.

“Thankfully, no injuries to police officers or the public were reported. However, this was a particularly protracted period of public disorder lasting into the early hours,” he said.

“Petrol and paint bombs were thrown at officers and vehicles by groups of up to 50 young people. The windscreens of three cars were shattered and splattered with paint with some damage also caused to our police vehicles.”