Flags removed: politicians call for action

KEEPING IN TOUCH...Russell Watton, independent candidate, pictured at the election count. CR19 264pl

On Tuesday, a number of flags were taken from homes in the Windyhall Road area.

The flags were later recovered in the area by local residents and returned to their owners.

Mr Watton said: “This situation regarding the ongoing sectarian attacks in Coleraine is starting to escalate out of control.

“These attacks take the form of pulling down and destroying Loyalist flags.

“As I have emphasised to the PSNI these attacks are hate crimes and must be treated as such.”

DUP MLA Adrian McQuillan has also condemned the incidents and called for more police, both on foot and in cars, in and around estates in Coleraine.

“These kind of attacks have been ongoing in the Coleraine area for the past two years.

“Somebody somewhere knows something - police need to be more robust - the presence of a police car for a few minutes at night is not good enough, it is time patrols were stepped up and those responsible were brough to justice.”

In a statement, the PSNI told The Coleraine Times on Monday that they are reviewing CCTV, but have also appealed to anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the area at the time to contact them on the non-emergency number 101.