POLICE IN NORTHERN Ireland are investigating a racial hate crime in Belfast yesterday evening after a man had stones thrown at him while he walked in a park.

The man was walking in the area of Castlereagh, East Belfast at around 7:15 pm yesterday when he was approached by six young people, the PSNI have said.

The young people shouted abuse and intimidated the man, before throwing stones at him as he walked away.

The PSNI have said they are treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime and that enquiries are ongoing. Any witnesses to the incident have been asked to come forward and speak to the police.

Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said “thankfully there were no other reports of any serious incidents across Northern Ireland on Sunday”, however, enquiries are ongoing into the disorder seen in Belfast over the past week.

This violence included two businesses owned by people from minority ethnic communities that were set alight following an anti-immigration demonstration in Belfast.

Police have now arrested 35 people in connection with the violent disorder, with 28 of those charged and brought before the courts. 

This morning, a further two men, aged 58 and 30, are set to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court and Downpatrick Magistrates Court respectively.

Jones said “20 officers have been injured since the disorder began, including one female officer sustaining severe facial injuries and another male officer with a broken leg”, calling the assaults unacceptable.

She appealed to the public for anyone with information about the disorder to come forward and speak with police, saying “do not let these criminals hide in your community”.

Ten police officers in Derry were also injured over the weekend when petrol bombs and fireworks were thrown at them. 

The attacks came after the annual loyalist-backed Apprentice Boys Relief of Derry parade, which marks the anniversary of the ending of the Siege of Derry in 1689.