Police investigate material on Derry bonfire as ‘hate crime’

By Rebecca Black, PA

Police are investigating the placing of a number of flags and banners on a bonfire in Derry as hate crimes.

Union flags, the flag of Israel with the name of US president Joe Biden daubed on it, an image of a police Land Rover and a King Charles coronation flag were placed on the bonfire in Derry.

The bonfire, in the Bogside area, was lit on Thursday night.

Traditionally, bonfires have been lit on August 15th in some nationalist areas of the North to mark the Catholic Feast of the Assumption although they are becoming a less frequent sight.

A police spokesperson said officers are investigating the material placed on bonfires in Derry, which are being treated as hate crimes.

“There were no arrests in relation to bonfires in Derry/Londonderry on August 15,” they added.