THE POLICE SERVICE of Northern Ireland has announced that it will be significantly scaling-up the number of officers on the ground due to recent violent disorder they have encountered.

In a statement, Assistant Chief Constable Jones said, “Increasing our resources and footprint across Northern Ireland in the coming days will enable us to manage planned events and deal with any sporadic incidents, including disorder.”

She also said that a request had been put into the National Police Co-ordination Centre, requesting extra officers be sent from the mainland UK.

“Any officers who may come to Northern Ireland would specifically assist with the ongoing public disorder and protests and not every day policing,” she said.

A number of violent demonstrations have occured since Saturday, when Loyalist demonstrators, joined by anti-immigrant elements from Dublin, clashed with police and counter-demonstrators outside Belfast City Hall.

Violence continued for a number of days after, with restaurants, cafés, and shops belonging to people from Middle Eastern backgrounds being targeted.

Thousands of counter-demonstrators turned out across the UK this evening to face down over 100 planned anti-immigration protesters. Police said that 41 of the 43 policing areas in the UK expected demonstrations, including violence.