Belfast protest LIVE: Northern Ireland chaos tonight as bus set on fire after stabbing
A family were left 'really, really scared' as protestors attempted to get into their house and threw fireworks, a resident who helped them told Sky News.
The woman, who did not want to give her name, said people were trying to kick a man, his wife and their teenage daughter out of their house in the Shankill Road area.
"I could just see them all going into the house," she said. "I don't know how I did it but I stopped every one of them from going into the bedroom."
The woman added taht the family seemed "really, really scared".
She continued: "I just said, come out with me, I'll help you, just come with me... I walked out with them and I could see people looking at me."
She then shouted at demonstrators that the family were not involved in Monday night's attack.
"We just kept walking and walked right out of the street with them and walked right around the corner."
The woman said she believed that "definitely, something really bad would have happened" had she not intervened.
"I think they would have been beaten to a pulp," she said. "To be honest, I dread to think what would have happened."
She said she had been thinking about the attack on Monday the whole day and how it highlighted riots in Northern Ireland last year.
"You're thinking, what's going to happen and what's the worst that can happen?" she said.
"I don't know but when I saw them going into that house, I just knew that something really bad was going to happen to them, only because they were foreign. I was the only person there that actually stopped it."
The victim of Monday's horror knife attack on Kinnaird Avenue in Belfast has been named locally as Stephen Ogilvie.
According to the PSNI, the victim, who is in his 40s, remained in a serious condition in hospital on Tuesday, receiving treatment for severe injuries to his eye, face and back.
Read the full story here.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn MP has released a statement condeming Tuesday night's action.
"People have been rightly shocked by the brutal attack in north Belfast, but the police must be allowed to do their job so the law can take its course," he says.
Benn says the disorder is "damaging communities and putting innocent lives at risk", adding: "There is no justification at all for this type of destruction and thuggery."
He echoes calls from police for the violence to end.
The former first minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster, said she has watched the scenes across the country "with great sadness" tonight.
"This is not only wrong - we condemn the violence absolutely - but it's counter-productive," she told Sky News.
"The people that are causing this violence," she added, "have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders."
Foster added, "I cannot even comprehend what happened in north Belfast last night," before adding that those with concerns about immigration in Northern Ireland "need to be acknowledged".
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service officers have been deployed across the city this evening. Watercannnons have been utilised in Newtownabbey, with images showing firefighters tackling a house fire on Ligoniel Road with hoses.
Northern Ireland's first minister has condemned tonight's action on social media. Michelle O'Neill says that "groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice".
"This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery," she adds.
"The attack in north Belfast was heinous and wrong. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that, to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here."
Her post adds that racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur.
"There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight. No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm."
Hige flames have been seen on Lendrick Street this evening amid the chaos.
One image shows a family placed into a PSNI vehicle after being rescued from houses which caught fire in Lendrick Street in east Belfast.
There are also reportedly protests across the UK following Monday's knife attack.
In Scotland, protestors gathered in Glasgow city centre and St Andrew's Square in Edinburgh.
Police were also deployed to a demonstration outside the Highfield House Hotel in Southampton.
"We utterly condemn this attack on our Glider service," a Gilder bus spokesperson has said.
"The safety of our staff and customers is our top priority and all bus and train services are suspended for the rest of tonight in the interests of safety."
Northern Ireland’s deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has appealed for calm as disorder continues to flare in response to Monday night's stabbing attack in the city.
In a social media post, Ms Little-Pengelly said: “I know all are horrified about what has happened. I know so many are angry and there are those who want to register a protest.
“This is an appeal to act in an entirely peaceful way. Violence does not advance any cause, it damages it.
“Destroying things within your own community benefits no one.
“Taking frustration at the evil actions of a person out on those who had no part in it is utterly wrong. Safety is at the heart of so much of the concern.
“Engaging in violence risks your own safety, that of others and fundamentally does any cause or campaign to be heard terrible disservice and damage.”
Lendrick Street is seen in flames in the latest images coming from Belfast.
Bins and cars in the street have all been set alight. Large groups of protesters are watching as flames spread through the surrounding area.
There are unconfirmed reports from Sky News of cars being stopped by locals with the nationalities of occupants then being checked.
Sky News footage shows that another property in Belfast appears to be alight.
Fire seems to have completely overtaken the building.
Among the buildings set on fire by protesters is a Middle Eastern supermarket, Sky News reports. Our reporter on the ground says demonstrators are targeting immigrants.
Firefighters are dousing cars set ablaze at Bute Park in the Ballybeen area of Dundonald on the eastern outskirts of Belfast.
Firefighters are attempting to evacuate residents and nearby people from the burning house.
A house has been pictured engulfed in flames.
Fire can be seen pouring out of the windows and doors of the house whilst thick smoke is coming out of its roof.
Here is an image showing a house that was targeted earlier this evening. A torched car is parked outside and the door is wide open.
This house appears to have been targted with five or six lads kicking the door and storming in.
Our reporter at the scene said: "One house was targeted, five or six lads kicked the door and ran in. Kicked the doors, smashed the windows, ripped the frame out, smashed a car and set it on fire."
More bins have been set alight by protesters.
This time the bins are ablaze on Ligoniel Road and on the Crumlin Road area of Belfast.
Footage from the scene shows crowds of masked protesters surrounding the burning bins with large amounts of debris scattered across the road.
Police say they are dealing with "sporadic pockets of disorder."
A PSNI land rover is being attacked by masked individuals.
A business called 'Turkish Barbers' in Ballyclare has been targted in the disorder this evening. Its windows have been smashed and items are strewn through the damaged storefront.
A dispersal order has been given at Yorkgate station, ih the north of Belfast.
Police are said to be threatening force.
Firefighters are being forced to negotiate access to a street where a car is ablaze.
Flames have completely engulfed a car, with the vehicle barely visible amidst the fire.
Groups of protestors at the scene can be seen running away from the burning car.
We have just heard some more from our reporter at the Scene Conor Wilson on the houses that were targeted earlier this evening.
He says: "Fireworks were thrown, flares were thrown through a house, windows were smashed, cars were set on fire.
"As terrified residents, many of whom were children looked on both from within the crows and from adjacent houses."
"We are urging everyone to remain calm", says The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said: “Sporadic pockets of disorder have broken out in a number of locations across Northern Ireland this evening, including incidents in which a number of vehicles have been set on fire.
"We are urging everyone to remain calm, act responsibly, and avoid any activity that could place themselves or others at risk. Officers are on the ground, working alongside partner agencies, responding to incidents as they arise and helping to keep people safe.“We are again appealing for calm and ask all voices of influence within local communities to encourage peaceful protest and discourage any involvement in violence or disorder.”
Riot police have been seen gathering in the area.
Disorder continues to flare in Belfast in response to Monday night's stabbing attack in the city.
A 30-year-old man arrested in connection with the Belfast stabbing attack has been charged with attempted murder and will appear in court in the city on Wednesday
Riot police have been deployed as the unrest continues to escalate.
Riot police vehicles have formed a line along Woodvale Road in Belfast.
The Daily Express's Conor Wilson has just witnessed locals in Belfast telling police to "get the f*** out."
This is because they fear the police's presence will make their homes a target, Conor reports.
Express reporter Conor Wilson has told us that ""when something smashes the crowd cheers".
A police helicopter is hovering overhead Belfast now.
A fire crew has reportedly had to leave a part of Belfast after a masked man approached them.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that the man approached them with a weapon close to Lanyon Place.
Vehicles are reportedly being blocked from entering the M2 near Yorkgate as people in black clothes obstruct the road.
This has brought traffic to a standstill.
Large flames are shooting from the windows and interior of a Glider bus.
The bus was set on fire by protesters, on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast.
Parts of the bus appear to have been badly damaged or melted, and debris can be seen scattered on the road around it.
We are now hearing more from our reporter at the scene.
One house appears to have been targted with five or six lads kicking the door and storming in.
He said: "One house was targeted, five or six lads kicked the door and ran in. Kicked the doors, smashed the windows, ripped the frame out, smashed a car and set it on fire."
The Express' Conor Wilson reports that there are around 1,000 protesters with police "outnumbered."
The photo shows police vans on an adjacent road to the disorder just off Shankhill road.
Crowds are continuing to gather with protesters blocking Newtownards Road in East Belfast.
Around 100 masked men have walked down Station Road in Whiteabbey, just north of Belfast, turned off into Abbeyville Street and have started to pelt house a with stones.
Two explosions have been heard in Belfast after protestors set a Glider Bus on fire on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has warned people against being influenced “from afar through social media” in the wake of a knife attack.
He said: "There will be an increased police presence across Northern Ireland this evening and in the coming days to provide help, support, and reassurance for all our communities, and to keep everybody safe.
"There is considerable posting on social media. I appeal for everyone to be mindful of what they view and share online. Sharing footage risks causing further trauma to the injured man’s family and loved ones, and may impact on this investigation."
More protestors have gathered in Belfast.
Thick smoke appears to be rising over part of the city.
A vehicle that appears to be a bus or tram has been pictured engulfed by flames.
A number of roads in Belfast have been closed, and events have been cancelled as locals anticipate unrest.
There are early indications that the anticipated unrest may be beginning to emerge in Belfast tonight.
Masked men dressed in black appear to be setting bins alight.
Footage from the scene shows flames rising out of the bins.
An aerial image shows two bins burning in the middle of a street, with several individuals dressed in black standing nearby.
Good evening. My name is Lauran O'Toole and welcome to our live coverage.
A large crowd has gathered at Freedom Corner on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast after a horror stabbing in the city.
We will be providing you with live updates as and when we receive them.
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