Graffiti warning Protestants they could be "bombed out, burnt out or shot" in North Belfast

Graffiti warning Protestants they could be "bombed out, burnt out or shot" has been put up in North Belfast.

The threats were daubed on a wall close to a new housing development just off the Mill Road.

Andy Allen, a former soldier and the Ulster Unionist Party's north Belfast spokesman described the graffiti as a deliberate attempt to stir up sectarian tension.

He said: "I am absolutely disgusted at the latest attempt to whip up community tensions in North Belfast, centred on the former Felden Training Centre site just off the Mill Road.

"This graffiti incident is the latest in a number of incidents which are clearly designed to intimidate Protestants who may be thinking of applying for housing in the new development."

The £11.5 million project is due for completion in October.

Sectarian tensions have been increasing in North Belfast over recent months.

On Friday, rival gangs of unionist and nationalist youths gathered with knives and sticks for a pre-arranged fight in the Skegoniel area.

Last month, in Ardoyne a long-running dispute over an Orange Order march on a contested stretch of road also erupted into serious violence.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed officers were investigating criminal damage at Longlands Road, Newtownabbey. A spokesman appealed for anyone with information to contact the neighbourhood policing team at Newtownabbey on the non-emergency 101 number.