Two children hurt in car stoning

Cars were attacked after leaving parade

Two children have been treated in hospital after stonethrowers attacked cars in the Markets area of Belfast.

They were covered in glass after the window of the car they were in was smashed. However, they were not seriously injured.

Eyewitnesses said a crowd of youths, some armed with hurley sticks, attacked several cars.

The driver of the car - who did not want to be identified - said it had been a frightening experience.

"There were kids, maybe 10 or 11, but there were some older ones there with hurley bats obviously as a back up," he said.

"Stones bounced off the sides of the car and the windows smashed. My 10-year-old was sitting at the window that was smashed and my two-year-old was sitting in the back behind her.

"The glass ended up going into the back as well and the whole car was covered in glass."

The vehicles were being driven by people leaving the mini-Twelfth parade in east Belfast.

There was a major security presence for the march - particularly at the flashpoint area near the Short Strand- but it passed off peacefully.

Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey said there was no excuse for the attack on the cars.