A 20-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested by police investigating an incident where slurry was spread on a street in Ballymena, Co Antrim before a Pride parade yesterday.

Businesses near the Town Centre shopping centre opened their shutters on Greenvale Street and Ballymoney Street yesterday to find the mess. The town’s first-ever Pride parade was due to finish up on those streets later in the day.

One shopkeeper said the slurry was all over the road and had reached parts of the lampposts on the edge of the street. Staff began cleaning the road ahead of the arrival of customers.

This morning, a man, 20, was arrested in Ballymena. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said he is accused of criminal damage, aiding and abetting criminal damage and causing material to be deposited on a road.

He remains in custody at this time, a spokesperson said. Enquiries remain ongoing.

Police are treating the incident as a hate crime.

A 19-year-old man was charged with criminal damage in relation to the investigation yesterday.

The Pride parade went ahead yesterday afternoon in Ballymena, the first time the town has hosted such an event. It was protested by four local evangelical Christian groups.