Bonfire bill estimated at £60,000

Bonfires are lit in Protestant areas of Northern Ireland on 11 July

An estimated £60,000 was spent by the Roads Service on clearing up eleventh night bonfires this year.

The information came to light through a question tabled to the minister for regional development by Sinn Fein Lagan Valley assembly member Paul Butler.

He asked Conor Murphy to detail the costs incurred in relation to the annual clean-up.

Although unable to give an exact figure, Mr Murphy said somewhere in the region of £60,000 had been spent.

"My department's Roads Service may be involved with the removal of bonfire material from the public road network, either before or after the bonfire has been lit, and the subsequent removal of that material," he said in a response to his party colleague.

"Repairs to the road surface may also be required. The extent of Roads Service's involvement varies from year to year and also between local council areas."

Celebration

Although it is a night of celebration for loyalists, 11 July bonfires come in for criticism from some quarters.

It is claimed that they raise community tensions and damage the environment through the burning of, among other things, tyres.

However, efforts are being made in many areas to improve the situation, especially with regards to pollution.

Bonfires are built by the members of the Protestant community ahead of the 12 July commemoration of William of Orange's victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.