Children 'as young as nine' involved in Belfast riots

Children as young as nine were involved in rioting against police in a loyalist area of north Belfast last night, a bus workers' union claimed today. During a second night of violence in the Newtownabbey area, a bus was hijacked and set on fire near the Cloughfern roundabout. It is understood the bus was being driven by a woman, who was pulled out of the cab. She was shocked but uninjured. Michael Dornan of the Unite union said questions had to be asked of the parents of young children who were involved. "The easiest thing to do would be to withdraw the services," Dornan said. "But it is not the fault of the people who depend on the bus for their job, it is not the fault of the people who depend on the bus to go shopping. "Someone, somewhere needs to show leadership and stop this, so these people can have the bus service they need." On Monday night, £200,000 of damage was caused in the first wave of violence that erupted around the Rathcoole housing estate. Loyalists have blamed a police unit investigating past crimes during the Troubles for provoking two nights of rioting in north Belfast. The violence erupted after arrests earlier yesterday in connection with an inquiry into Ulster Volunteer Force murders originally carried out by the Historical Enquiries Team and now headed by detectives from the Northern Ireland police service.