THE Department for Infrastructure has said it is treating damage to a lamppost, where it appears the power supply has been redirected to a bonfire hut in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast, as a criminal matter.
Images from The Irish News on Friday showed a damaged panel of the lamppost, with leads connected to the makeshift wooden hut where, inside, an extension cable with a phone lead could be seen.
A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said: “The department is aware of this incident which will be dealt with as soon as possible. This is a criminal matter which will be reported to the police.”
On Friday, a PSNI spokesperson said the matter had not yet been officially reported.
Before the Eleventh Night bonfires, the tower of wooden pallets at Sandy Row could be seen with Irish tricolour and Palestinian flags on top.
There had also been criticism of multiple other examples of bonfires with Irish flags and pictures of politicians as well as sectarian slogans.
Despite this, on Friday morning the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said it had been “a relatively quiet night” after receiving 109 999 calls, resulting in firefighters attending 78 incidents including 37 which were bonfire related.
