Violence at Co Antrim leisure centre a 'new low' and a 'dark day', says MLA

Vivienne Clarke

Alliance Party MLA for Larne, Danny Donnelly, has described violent incidents at a leisure centre in Larne on Wednesday night as “a new low” and “a dark day”.

Mr Donnelly told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that “a very sinister element” had been “clearly intent” on attacking the leisure centre where it was believed people who had fled their homes in Ballymena the previous night, were being accommodated.

The attack had been racist in nature, and the police had been outnumbered by the rioters who then attempted to burn the building which he said sustained considerable damage which would take some time to repair.

“A crowd developed from about 6.30pm onwards, a large crowd, probably about a hundred people, but there was a very sinister element building up within it, a crowd of masked youths that were wandering around, picking up bricks, pulling out bins, and there was clearly an intent to attack the building," Donnelly said.

“The building was busy at the time, the swimming club was going on, there was families, there was young children, people were doing fitness classes, people were coming and going as their normal business.

"But there was clearly a building intent that was to attack the building. And unfortunately that prevailed. The building was pelted with bricks, the windows were smashed, police were attacked with bricks and then the building was set on fire.

“I've been down this morning and there's extensive fire damage to the front of the building, it's going to be out of action for quite a while, I imagine. This is our town leisure centre that is being gutted at the front it. It was absolutely disgusting.

“It was very frightening being in there last night when it was being attacked. There was a class going on when a brick came through the window. There was women on yoga mats doing an exercise class and a brick come through the window. Thankfully no one was injured but they very easily could have been, there was brick and glass everywhere.

“The staff were fantastic. They were able to manage to get people out to safety. They managed to get people outside and away from the main thrust of the mob. And this was an attack by a racist mob. There's no other description.”

Mr Donnelly explained that two families who had been evacuated from their homes in Ballymena on previous nights had been taken to the Larne leisure centre as a place of safety. Women and children had slept on yoga mats in the council-run facility.

They had been moved elsewhere when the attack happened.

“Thankfully everybody had been out and the staff at that time decided to retreat and I was with the staff and we left via the back door as the windows were coming in around us," Donnelly said.

“This is something that is a dark day. This is a new low for us. This is not something that we would normally be used to. People do not go out and attack facilities such as this.

"There certainly was a real malign intent involved last night that I hadn't seen before. So I'm very, very concerned about it. It was racist in nature.

"The facility was attacked because it housed immigrant families for a short while after their homes had been burned out. I'm clear that that is the intent and that is motivation.”