Derry disorder sees police attacked with ‘cans of paint, petrol bombs and glass bottles’

Fires were lit on roads and fireworks were let off in the area too, police said.

Petrol bombs, glass bottles, and cans of paint were thrown at police during disorder in Derry on Sunday night.

Police dealt with “sporadic disorder” in the Waterside area of the city from shortly after 7.30pm on September 27, with fires lit on roads and fireworks let off in the Strabane Old Road/Irish Street area.

Some of those involved in attacking police in the area had their faces covered, a police spokesperson said.

A PSNI spokesperson added: “A large number of people gathered in the area, watching on. Irish Street was closed as officers worked to bring the situation under control.

“By 11pm, the area had returned to normal, however, police maintained a presence for a time to ensure no further incidents occurred.

“While some police vehicles were damaged, fortunately, there were no injuries reported to police officers, or to members of the public, or properties. An investigation is underway to identify all those involved.”

Area Commander of Derry City & Strabane, Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney said: “Our courageous and dedicated officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect the local community.

“Valuable police resources were used to deal with this situation last night, resources which should have been available to help victims of crime. It is completely unacceptable.”

Anyone with information, including dash-cam, CCTV or other footage, can contact police on 101, quoting reference number 1245 of 27/09/26.

Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.

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