PSNI marshal fans into loyalist band parade

Celtic football supporters have told An Phoblacht they are lucky to be alive after their buses were attacked by loyalists after they drove inadvertently into a loyalist band parade on the Ballyclare Road near Glengormley around 7.30pm on Saturday 16 August.

The band parade consisted of around 800 participants.

While the first bus was untouched, several windows were broken on the second minibus before it reached the safety of Glengormley.

One of the supporters told this newspaper how they escaped serious injury as bottles and bricks crashed through the windows of the bus. "There was pandemonium, every one was throwing the children onto the floor and laying down on top of them to stop the missiles from hitting them. It was sheer bedlam windows were smashing all around us and some people got cut by flying glass."

Another fan told how the bus could not travel any faster as a PSNI jeep was in front of the minibus and was travelling at walking pace.

"The PSNI jeep was going very slow as the bricks and bottles were thrown at the bus. We were all like sitting ducks because of the speed the PSNI were driving at. I was praying the driver didn't get hit by any of the missiles as if we had stopped we would have been killed".

Sinn Féin South Antrim councillor Martin Meehan said he was inundated with complaints from people travelling on the buses.

"Why did the PSNI travel so slowly in front of the bus when they knew the parade was going on?" he asked.

Meehan said he and several of those on the buses will be making an official complaint to the Police Ombudsman's Office.

"I want to know why the PSNI did not take proper charge of the situation when the sectarian attack occurred. I will be raising the legitimacy of this band parade with the Parades Commission and I will be asking were there any designated marshals to steward this parade and if there were, why did they not stop this attack. I think the people on the buses deserve a proper investigation into these queries."