SIX PSNI OFFICERS were injured overnight as loyalist crowds clashed with security forces in a dispute over the flying of sectarian flags.

The rioting flared just before midnight in Ballyclare, Co Antrim as a crowd of between 70 and 100 people hurled petrol bombs and other objects at police. Five officers were injured when a PSNI Land Rover was rammed by a hijacked bus, while another was hurt by a missile. A water cannon was used, and the trouble ended at around 2.30am, according to the PSNI.

Loyalists in the area had staged a protest on Saturday after unionist flags were removed by police on Friday, the BBC reports. DUP MLA Paul Girvan said: “There was a number of loyalist paramilitary flags removed, but as well as that there was union flags and an Ulster flag [removed]. As a result there was a bit of a backlash from the community and those who put the flags up.”

Meanwhile, a 27-year-old man was arrested after disturbances in Magherafelt early this morning. A barricade was set up and police officers assaulted as they tried to remove it, according to the PSNI. Homes were also attacked in what is being treated as a sectarian incident.

The disturbances come amid rising tensions in the run-up to the traditional July 12 marching season in the North.