THE PSNI HAS said that a number of missiles have been thrown towards its members in north Belfast this evening.

The public disorder incident is taking place in the Lanark Way in the Loyalist Shankill Road area.

A protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol had been planned in the area this evening.

A number of missiles and fireworks have been thrown towards police, the PSNI said.

Officers are advising motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area until further notice.

Earlier this week, politicians from both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland criticised the hijack and burning of a bus in Newtownards, Co Down on Monday morning. The bus driver managed to escape uninjured.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson blamed Loyalist paramilitary “thugs and hoods” for the attack, which is thought to be linked to opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol – which puts a trade border along the Irish Sea that the British Government signed up to last December.