Car attack witness 'sickened' by incident

The attack happened in Connswater Retail Park on Monday

A man who witnessed an attack on a car in east Belfast, which is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime, has said he was "sickened" by what he saw.

The eyewitness, who has asked to remain anonymous, said a large group "attacked" the vehicle in Connswater Retail Park while "shouting racist abuse" on Monday.

"There were about 40 to 50 people surrounding the car, [saying] 'get them out, get them out, get them out', shaking the car, hitting the car, hitting the windows, booting the windows," he said.

The man said there were three men with "dark skin" in the car and that they were "terrified-looking".

"It sickened the life clean out of me," he told the BBC's Nolan Show.

Police have said they are treating the incident involving a navy vehicle as a "racially motivated hate crime", along with a report of damage to a silver vehicle in the same area.

A video of the incident was posted on social media.

BBC News NI has not been able to verify who recorded and posted the video.

'I felt terrified'

The man who witnessed the attack on the navy car said he thought the men were going to be killed.

"The three of them would have been dead. That's what I thought.

"I felt terrified and I was 20 yards away from it."

The man added the driver eventually managed to get the car away from the crowd.

"The engine started roaring, people jumped back, the car spun out... They [the men] were still in the car, they couldn't move.

"You see the driver, fair play to him... he drove out of there."

The man also questioned why police were at a different car park, in the retail park, while the incident took place.

Police have said they received a report of a large gathering of people in the Factory Street area at about 19:20 BST on Monday.

The driver of a silver car was approached by members of the group and they then left their vehicle.

It was later reported the car was damaged, as the crowd dispersed following the incident.

The driver of a navy coloured car was also confronted by the group but managed to drive off.

There were no reports of any injuries to the driver of the navy car or damage to the vehicle.

The police have appealed for information.

Increased police presence

Ch Insp Cunningham said the incident had generated "fear in the community".

"They are confronting and intimidating innocent members of the public, largely on the basis of the colour of their skin," he added.

"Those involved have neither the legal nor the moral authority to do this.

"It is the responsibility of the police service to enforce the law in Northern Ireland."

Ch Insp Cunningham said there will be "an increased policing presence in the area".

"Let me be very clear, these groups are not protecting the community from anything," he said.

"In reality these groups are frustrating our efforts to provide a policing service to the people of east Belfast by forcing us to redirect our limited resources to monitoring them.

"I urge everyone involved in this type of activity to stop."