LAST UPDATE | 11 Jun

A LEISURE CENTRE in Larne in Northern Ireland has been set on fire by rioters as violence seen in Ballymena over the last two nights spreads to other areas.

Footage shared online shows masked individuals smashing windows and setting fires outside Larne Leisure Centre. The fire has since been brought under control, according to the local fire service.

Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly said: “Larne does not need this.”

Police have been deployed for a third night in a row in Ballymena. The Belfast Telegraph has reported that police are also at the scene of disorder in Coleraine, where footage online has shown bins set alight near a train track.

Larne leisure centre has been attacked by masked thugs. Windows smashed and fires lit nearby. Larne does not need this. pic.twitter.com/F3mlQVwgFy

— Danny Donnelly MLA (@DannyDonnelly1) June 11, 2025

Ulster Unionist Party MLA John Stewart described the events in Larne as “despicable and disgraceful”

“The violence, vandalism, and intimidation seen this evening have absolutely no place in our society,” Stewart said.

He said the leisure centre is a “vital community asset at the very heart of Larne” and that “to see it targeted in such a senseless and deliberate manner is both truly shocking and deeply saddening”. 

Riot police have been deployed to different parts of Antrim, including in Larne (pictured) this evening. Alamy Alamy

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has deployed riot police in Ballymena for the third consecutive night as a significant crowd gathered around the Clonavon Terrace area.

Demonstrators who gathered on Bridge Street near the residential area were told to disperse shortly before 9pm after a firework was thrown at officers. Petrol bombs and fireworks, as well as other projectiles, have been thrown at police this evening.

Earlier today, the PSNI requested assistance from police forces in Britain following the violence in Ballymena over the last two nights.

The PSNI said 17 officers were injured, and six people were arrested last night, after violent disorder erupted for a second night in a row.  

Multiple cars and properties were set on fire while rioters hurled petrol bombs, fireworks and masonry at police officers.

Riot police block a road close to Clonavon Terrace in Ballymena this evening Jonathan McCambridge / PA Jonathan McCambridge / PA / PA

Alongside the injuring of police officers, much of the violence has been targeted at homes that rioters believe to belong to people from eastern European countries.

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On Monday, two teenage boys appeared in court charged with the sexual assault of a young teenage girl. The two teenagers spoke through a Romanian translator. 

The Journal has documented some of the damage done by rioters in Ballymena, including to the home of a Bulgarian man who was targeted, a neighbouring home where the window of a child’s bedroom was smashed in, and a home belonging to Filipinos who had to leave because of the extensive damage.

On Clonavon Terrace, where four homes were burnt on Monday night, a Romanian teenager told The Journal that the rioters claim to be fighting for the victim of the alleged sexual assault but they’re “just destroying their own town”.

“Where is the justice for this poor girl? This isn’t justice for her, this is just racism destroying where we live,” the teenager said.

A pram and wheelchair outside the smashed window of a child's bedroom in Ballymena Diarmuid Pepper / The Journal Diarmuid Pepper / The Journal / The Journal

Additional reporting by Press Association