A jersey belonging to west Belfast GAA club St Galls atop a bonfire on Sunday

POLICE have played down the prospect of prosecutions over election posters and effigies being burned on bonfires, saying "it is unlikely there will be any evidential material to progress".

Alliance councillor Michael Long had called for police to investigate after pictures of his wife Naomi were among images erected on Eleventh night pyres.

However, Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin said last night it was "very much a community matter" and indicated that arrests would be unlikely as much of the evidence had been burned.

"We have received a number of complaints and reports about various material, some of which was clearly distasteful and offensive, that were placed on bonfires at a number of sites across Northern Ireland last night.

"We have liaised with local community representatives in order to have material removed at many of these bonfires. Although some items were removed, others were not.

"These items were destroyed on the bonfires and it is unlikely there will be any evidential material to progress."

The Assistant Chief Constable said the problem was not the responsibility of police in the first instance.

He added: "Where police are aware of a crime being committed, an investigation will follow. We take hate crime very seriously and actively investigate all incidents reported to us."

Some loyalist areas opted to hold their bonfires on Sunday, while others were lit on Saturday night.

Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance election posters, effigies of republicans, tricolours and flags of the GAA, the Vatican and religious statues were among items burned in some areas.

Some huge bonfires which collapsed, including in Sandy Row and Chobham Street in Belfast, required the intervention of firefighters.

Crews hosed down properties in Chobham Street to avoid heat damage, with wooden boardings having already been placed over windows and doors at a cost of £10,000 to the taxpayer.

The fire service said it dealt with 52 bonfire-related incidents from Saturday night until Monday morning, 19 of which required intervention from fire crews.

One man was treated for minor burns in Larne, while youths were seen scaling a lit bonfire at Broadway roundabout in west Belfast.

Disturbances were also reported at a handful of flashpoints across the weekend, most notably at the Lanark Way interface between the Falls and Shankill Roads in west Belfast.

A crowd of around 60 people gathered close to the interface, with several throwing petrol bombs at police vehicles. Minor damage was caused and there were no reports of any injuries.

It is understood the attacks on police came from the nationalist side.

Two people were arrested at the scene and a 32-year-old woman was charged last night with riotous behaviour.

In a separate incident in the early hours of Sunday at Conway Place, near the interface, homes and cars belonging to nationalist residents were attacked.

In north Belfast, there were also reports that paint bombs and bricks were thrown at the loyalist camp at Twaddell.