Health Trust and Ambulance Service say phonelines unaffected by 5G mast fire

This follows a recent series of arson attacks on 5G masts, mostly in west Belfast

The Belfast Health Trust and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service have said they are unaware of any adverse impact on their communication network following a mast fire on Thursday night.

The 5G mast was set on fire in Poleglass.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Friday that it was the latest in a series of attacks on 5G masts, impacting individuals, businesses and vital services.

"Hospitals that are affected are experiencing communication difficulties in contacting patients and managing critical on-call arrangements and members of the public," Det Insp McAnee said.

He also said that people were "unable to make emergency calls or contact family".

When contacted by BBC News NI the Belfast Trust was "keen to stress that all services are operating as normal and are unaffected" by Thursday night's attack on the mast.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it had "no evidence" that people have not been able to get through to its service because of the mast damage.

Earlier this year Sinn Féin MP for the area Paul Maskey conducted a survey to gauge the scale of the impact of the mast fires on residents.

He said 87% of respondents described the phone signal as poor and described the results as staggering.

The deputy lord mayor of Belfast, Paul Doherty, said he has heard testimony of people unable to phone emergency services.

"It is very much a real situation, and something that is worsening as the weeks go on.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme, Doherty said: "This is happening in broad daylight, this is happening in busy areas and we haven't seen the adequate response from the police," he added.

He added that there needs to be an "upscale in terms of investigation and trying to find who is responsible" and an upscale on security at the 5G masts.

The mast was badly damaged in the attack

Police have appealed to people to come forward with any information on the attacks and said they were actively pursuing a number of lines of enquiry.

They said they believed there were people with knowledge that could assist them in identifying those responsible.

The MP for the area, Paul Maskey, said the "ongoing campaign by a small minority to destroy vital infrastructure in our city is having a detrimental impact on our communities".

"The fact that these arsonists feel comfortable carrying out these acts in broad daylight on a main road is deeply concerning, and is an indictment of the lack of action taken to date," he said.