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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Police attacked by crowd in town | Police attacked by crowd in town |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| One person has been arrested after police came under a "sustained attack" by a crowd in Magherafelt. | One person has been arrested after police came under a "sustained attack" by a crowd in Magherafelt. |
| Trouble broke out in the Sperrin and Leckagh areas of the town at about 0100 BST on Saturday, the police said. | Trouble broke out in the Sperrin and Leckagh areas of the town at about 0100 BST on Saturday, the police said. |
| About 30 to 50 people had gathered in both areas and a petrol bomb and other missiles were thrown at police. | About 30 to 50 people had gathered in both areas and a petrol bomb and other missiles were thrown at police. |
| There are no reports of any injuries. Police remained in the area until about 0700 BST when the area was reported as quiet. | There are no reports of any injuries. Police remained in the area until about 0700 BST when the area was reported as quiet. |
| The PSNI area commander for Magherafelt, Chief Inspector Paul Douglas, appealed for calm. | The PSNI area commander for Magherafelt, Chief Inspector Paul Douglas, appealed for calm. |
| "This has a huge impact on the quality of life for local residents and I would appeal for those who have influence within the community to use that influence and work alongside us to prevent this kind of situation from happening. | "This has a huge impact on the quality of life for local residents and I would appeal for those who have influence within the community to use that influence and work alongside us to prevent this kind of situation from happening. |
| "Neither my officers or the community want to see a repeat of the events of last night," he said. | "Neither my officers or the community want to see a repeat of the events of last night," he said. |
| Petrol bombs and other missiles were thrown | |
| Sinn Fein Councillor Sean McPeake said dialogue was needed between community representatives to prevent further trouble. | |
| "We don't want to be talking about peace walls going up in areas like this," he said. | |
| "This is a time when communities should be working together and removing all that distrust and hate." | |
| Paul McClean of the DUP said that people should not be drawn into retaliation. | |
| "From what I could see - and I don't know a lot of people who were there - is that a lot of people came from outside," he said. | |
| "When this sort of incident happens it naturally enough gathers a crowd and what I would say is that for people not to get drawn into this sort of tit-for-tat retaliation." |