Beauty of borough praised

Ms Villiers was in the borough last Thursday to speak to traders, residents and local politicians in the wake of a six-week period of unrest over the Union flag controversy.

Despite the circumstances of the visit, combined with rather grey weather conditions on Thursday afternoon, Ms Villiers took some time to highlight attractions.

“I had hoped to come to Carrickfergus a lot sooner, but parliamentary matters have kept me from doing that,” she said. “It’s really a beautiful town, even on a rainy day. The coastline and the castle in particular are beautiful.”

The north London MP also visited Stormont and East Belfast during her two-day stay, meeting a number of local politicians, traders and residents.